


Thoughtless Complications

by butimbroken, Scribes1015



Category: Angel: the Series, Buffy the Vampire Slayer (TV)
Genre: F/M
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-06-11
Updated: 2020-07-23
Packaged: 2021-03-04 05:08:22
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 15
Words: 46,293
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24668140
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/butimbroken/pseuds/butimbroken, https://archiveofourown.org/users/Scribes1015/pseuds/Scribes1015
Summary: Set after "The Girl In Question" Buffy and Faith head to L.A. to clear up a few misunderstandings.Chapters 14+ written with "butimbroken".
Relationships: Angel/Buffy Summers
Comments: 22
Kudos: 38





	1. Chapter 1

Buffy and Faith slowly walked down the boarding bridge bound for Los Angeles. She hadn't been expecting see California again so soon. Taking their seats, the second row in, she was once again grateful Giles had given her access to council funds. 

Per usual Faith pushed passed her to snatch the window seat."Hey, I'm the one doing you a favor" she said shrugging her shoulders, as she pulled earbuds from her carry on.

Knowing she wasn't wrong, and not having the energy to argue, Buffy rolled her eyes as she took her cramped seat along the aisle. The day had already been a hectic one, in the early morning hours before sunrise, she had been awoken by the non stop ringing of her cell. Glancing at the caller I.D. she really had contemplated letting it go to voicemail, but it was Dawn, and she might have felt guilty if she ignored an emergency… Sisterly duties and all.

_ "This better be damn important, and I swear to god if this is about some boy, then you better go eat a pint of ice cream and call me when the sun is out...In this hemisphere." _

Turned out she was calling about a boy, two boys to be exact. Only they weren't exactly boys, and they certainly weren't boys that Dawn had been involved with. 

Nope. 

She was calling about her boys. Angel and Spike, who had been there looking for her.

In Rome...

Dawn was totally spazzing, she had been out so she hadn't seen them, but Andrew had been home, because of course he had.

Buffy was certain that he wasted no time filling their head with a bunch of garbage, especially now that Dawn was screeching something about Angel and Spike believing she was dating the Immortal.

The Immortal! Just the thought alone made her stomach feel queasy. She had met him once, briefly when she was in Rome helping to get Dawn settled. 

Of all people...err vampires. They actually believed she would become involved with that pompous, self righteous, womanizing man whore. 

_ 'Who the hell did they think she was, did they think that she was jumping any vampires bones with clean teeth, and a defined jaw structure!? Jeez give a girl some credit...' _

Faith had found the entire situation hilarious, nearly doubling over as Buffy recounted what Dawn had told her.

"Faith, this serious! I don't understand what part of this you find so funny, they're going to blow our cover. We have to do some serious damage control. Now!"

It took Faith several moments to pull herself together, just as she seemed to have it under control, another fit of laughter would erupt from her. Clutching her sides she somehow managed to form words. "Listen B, why don't you just call him? It's just Angel, I've been telling you to call him for months now. Maybe if you had, then you wouldn't be in this pre.. predicament." Another fit of laughter erupted, annoyed Buffy left her to hyperventilate alone while she frantically began packing for Los Angeles.

She couldn't just call him, this was a conversation they needed to have in person… Besides, there were some other things they needed to talk about as well, best to just clear the air while she was there. 

Since Sunnydale was destroyed she had been living under the radar in Cleveland. The government had obviously caught wind of you know... an entire city imploding, which ultimately led them to her. There were many questions, security clearances, and classified information lectures she had been required to attend. Riley and Sam had both been part of process, and honestly it was nice that there was a familiar face. 

Cleveland was home to another Hellmouth, which meant that it was yet another epicenter of evil in need of protecting. There were dozens of slayers now all across the world, and they were still discovering more thanks to Willow and the coven. 

Destroying the Hellmouth had caused a ripple effect, that not only sent shockwaves through the government, but the underworld as well. There was a price on her head now, a steep one. 

Even though she had help, she was the one that got the credit. She was the one that every demon, every monster, every single thing that went bump in the night, wanted as their trophy. She was the most successful slayer in all of history.

The bounty on her head raised some problems early on, the things that were after her, had followed her from California to Europe, and back. Eventually Willow came up with yet another solution to one of her problems. With the help of the coven in London she cast a glamour. 

Using two of the most well trained potentials they had, Willow cast a spell to make each of them appear as Buffy herself. It didn't solve her problems, but with two decoys in place, it certainly helped take some of the heat off her. 

Except in situations like these...

Buffy looked to her left, Faith sat with her headphones on listening to what she swore was music. They were in a better place than they had been... well ever really. They shared an apartment, not that money was really an issue now that Giles had the Councils funds on hand, but she was nice company since all of her other friends were scattered across the globe. 

When Dawn called this morning, it hadn't taken Faith long to "volunteer" to tag along. Buffy wasn't sure if she just missed L.A. or if she wanted to make sure one of her best friends didn't turn the other one into a big ole pile of dust. 

A few weeks earlier a rogue slayer was tracked to Los Angeles. Giles had sent a team to recover the girl, but at the time they weren't fully aware of her situation. Dana ended up being way more than a rogue slayer, she was a very abused girl who should have never been activated. She was the physical embodiment of the consequences to their actions in Sunnydale. 

Once Andrew called and informed them just how dangerous she was, Buffy and Faith had planned to go pick her up themselves. They rushed to book flights, throwing what they could grab into a bag, they jumped in a cab making a mad dash for the airport. They were just about to board their flight when Giles called reporting that Dana had been safely apprehended and was enroute to him in England. 

Oh, and he also mentioned that Spike was alive. 

Buffy nearly lost her shit. She wasn't sure who she was more pissed at, Angel for taking over Wolfram & Hart, essentially becoming public enemy number one, or Spike for well… For being Spike, and alive, and not once reaching out to her. 

She was going to kill them.

Both. 

Thankfully Faith had stepped in before she could actually act on any of her impulses. "If the big guys working for the other side like you say B, then he obviously has some sort of plan. Now, you go down there storming into his office demanding answers you may blow his cover. I don't think you would be considered a low profile visitor, and hey its Angel. If anyone has this under control its him." Throwing her hands up in mock surrender, she took a step back...just in case. 

"Now the whole Spike situation, if he doesn't want you to know that he's back. I say that's his business..." 

At that point, a few blows were traded but on the bright side no broken bones. At least none that didn't heal after a few days. Her and Faith were always ones to punch out their differences, some things really didn't change.

OoOoO

Stepping out of the cab Buffy looked at the building, her eyes stopping on the letters that read Wolfram & Hart. Why did she suddenly feel so intimidated?

Taking a deep breath, she glanced up the steps to where Faith stood holding the door. "You just going to stand there and stare?"

Straightening her shoulders, Buffy's features settled into a firm look of determination. Ignoring the electric tingle in her body, she told herself that she would remain calm. She was a grown up now, not some little school girl. "Can we just hurry up and get this over with?" 

Faith playfully nudged her shoulder into Buffys, "What's the hurry B? I know at least one Vampire who…" Buffy held up her hand, she did not want to venture anywhere near that road. "Don't go there, were not here socially." 

Faith looked at her strangely from the corner of her eye "Uhhh B. We're literally here to explain to BOTH of your ex boyfriends that you don't have a new boyfriend… Sounds pretty personal to me."

Buffy pressed the button signaling the elevator, if she didn't know any better she would think this was just your regular run of the mill law firm. "We are here to trade information, that's it. As soon as we explain some things, and get a few answers of our own then were boarding the next flight out. It will be like we were never here." 

Faith just shook her head "Right, in and out... Got it."

The elevator ride to the main floor was spent in silence, which Buffy was beyond grateful for. She needed those few precious moments to compose herself, briefly she wondered if she would ever outgrow this. If there would ever be a time that seeing Angel wouldn't make her stomach flip flop.

When the bell chimed signaling their arrival, Buffy seriously considered pressing the button for the lobby. That phone call was making a lot more sense right about now. 

Faith glanced back over her shoulder, "Yo, B. You coming?"

It was now or never, taking a deep breath Buffy stepped off the elevator. She had to admit the space was impressive, you know for Hell Incorporated. 

For once she let Faith take the lead as she followed her up to what appeared to be a receptionist. Buffy had to do a double take, she couldn't believe her eyes. "Oh, you have got to be kidding me. Harmony!? Aren't you supposed to be evil?" 

Harmony looked up, he eyes nearly popping out of head at the sight of not only one, but two slayers. Attempting to hide her shock...and fear, she forced a giant smile. "Umm, Buffy, Hi, How have you been? I'm reformed now. At least as reformed as a vampire can be, you know without a soul. I've learned a lot from Angel and Spike though, about controlling my urges, and working as part of a team. I even help you know, fight the good fight, so there is absolutely NO reason why you should kill me. Because I'm good you know like you and..." 

"Faith?" Ignoring Harmony, Buffy and Faith both turned to the sound of voice. Buffy stood shocked at what she saw, this was definitely not the man she remembered. Buffy noticed the brief look of shock that crossed his features once he noticed her. "And Buffy. I must say this is a surprise, is there something we should be concerned about?" 

On the surface it was a simple question, but each of them knew the meaning behind it. Wes was feeling them out, he wanted to know if they were here for a fight. Buffy couldn't blame him, there was confusion all around. "We come in peace Wes, we just need to talk to Angel and then we will be out of your hair." 

"Ahhh, yes. Well it seems that you have picked the perfect time." Wes said as he nodded towards a door that had just begun to open. 

Suddenly Angel was there, walking out of the doorway, commanding the attention of the entire room, he looked good. She was just about to open her mouth to speak, to call out to him, when she noticed another woman was beside him. They were interacting in a way that didn’t make her seem like a client. Buffy felt someone's arm grab onto her, she would only later realize that it was Faith's. 

"B." 

Faith didn't know what to do, but she could see what was about to happen and there was no way to stop it. Angel had yet to notice them, too wrapped up in some blonde chick to look up. Faith grabbed onto Buffy's arm in an attempt to distract her from what she was about to witness. 

Angel had spent the last several hours with Nina in an attempt to distract himself. He had forgotten how nice it was to just enjoy someone's company, without the weight of the world hanging over their head. He wasn't sure exactly where their relationship stood, but they had definitely surpassed the physical barrier last night...and this morning. Leaning down, he pulled her to him, gently placing his lips on hers, he had no hesitation with the public display of affection. 

Buffy felt faint, like someone had sucked all the oxygen out of the room. Now grateful for Faith's steadying arm, she tried to look away, she tried to speak, but it was like she was paralyzed. Faith was right, this was a fucking terrible idea. 

At the sound of someone clearing their throat Angel looked up, the shock on his face evident as he stared at the last two people he expected to see. Frozen for what felt like an eternity, he briefly wondered if this was some weird nightmare. 

It certainly couldn't be reality, there was no way Faith would show up here without calling to let him know. As for Buffy, she was in Rome with The Immortal. Dancing, drinking, living her life to the fullest, and not baking, no she certainly wasn't baking. 

Cocking an eyebrow, Faith nearly laughed out loud at the expression on Angel's face, he looked like a fish out of water. It was like he wanted to say something, but couldn't figure out what, so his mouth just kept opening and closing. 

"What, no hug?" Taking pity on him, Faith stepped forward, wrapping her arms around him. He was the closest thing to a brother that she would ever have, she really had missed him. 

His mind was reeling, he made a mental note to have Harmony tortured after work. He was glad to see Faith, but after the Dana incident and Rome, he wasn't exactly sure why these two were here. 

Not to mention he had just kissed Nina in front of Buffy. Releasing Faith, he looked passed her, finally meeting the gaze of the green eyes that were pinning him in place. 

"Buffy." 


	2. Chapter Two

"Angel" she breathed out finally managing to find her voice. 

Buffy didn't miss the look of recognition cross the blondes face, she could feel her eyes attempting to size her up. Refusing to be intimidated, Buffy took a step toward her, reaching out, she shook her hand, formally introducing herself. Nina hadn't backed down, even though you could tell she too was uncomfortable in the situation. 

Angel still stood in a state of utter confusion, trying to figure out his best move, he somehow remembered how to use his voice. "Harmony, show Faith and Buffy to my office. I'm going to walk Nina out." 

Buffy watched as Angel led "Nina" towards the elevator, she wasn't sure how to feel or what to think, and she damn sure wasn't about to be led anywhere by Harmony. Turning on her heel she quickly walked through the door that Angel had just exited. 

As soon as she stepped inside, she could tell that this space belonged to him. Small pieces of Angel were scattered throughout, his black duster was thrown over the back of a chair, his desk was meticulously organized, the smell of his aftershave filled the air. She had to suppress a chuckle at the weapons wall displayed behind his desk, fighting axe front and center. 

"You gotta know B, I had no idea he was seeing someone." Buffy just nodded her head in acknowledgment, while silently continuing to take note of the weapons he had displayed.

Faith just knew she was about to be stuck in the middle of a situation that she wanted no part of. 

Angel used the excuse of walking Nina out in order to gain a few minutes of solace. By the time he stepped back out of the elevator, the shock had worn off. Now he was pissed, how dare they show up here, now. After everything that's been said, all the messages they had passed along through the "grapevine". 

Buffy knew he had returned before he said anything. They had a way of sensing each other like that, the less distance between them, the stronger the buzz. 

Closing the door behind him, he silently let everyone in the office know that they were not to be interrupted. Clearing his throat, he leaned back against his desk, as he spoke directly to Buffy. "So… how are you… what are you... why are you here?"

Buffy slowly let her eyes wander from the weapons on the wall, to meet his own.

"I heard you were in Rome."

Angel blew out an exasperated breath as he rolled his eyes. "I was. You were busy."

Faith plopped down on one of the oversized chairs in his office, propping her feet up on the glass coffee table, she crossed her arms behind her head. She figured she may as well get comfortable if she was going to have to witness this shit show. 

Sensing the anger in his tone, a small laugh escaped her, walking over she stood directly in front of him. Mimicking his own stance, she crossed her arms as she looked up to meet his eyes.

"You're right. I was very busy... In Cleveland." 

Cleveland...what did she mean she had been busy in Cleveland? He wasn't sure what she was getting at but he didn't have time for this. "What are you talking about Buffy? I saw you."

"You saw me?" She quipped, nodding her head. 

"Yes, I saw you. I saw you humping The Immortal… In public!" And here came the perpetual twelve year old, the one that came out whenever he thought she was involved with someone else.

She hadn't come here to fight, she really had came here to clear the air between them. She needed to know that they were still on the same side, she needed him to know that. Changing her tune, she took a deep breath as she walked towards him, she could literally see his body tense when she stopped within just inches of him. 

Angel purposely avoided looking down into her eyes, instead he choose to stare off somewhere to her left. He wasn't sure what she was playing at here... "Angel" she whispered his name in the way that only she ever could, her fingers gently grabbed onto his forearms as they held firm to his desk."I wasn't in Rome, and I'm not, nor have I ever dated the Immortal. I swear, you can even ask Faith." 

Angel had nearly forgotten about the brunette slayer, glancing over he noticed that she appeared to be enjoying this a little too much. Shrugging her shoulders, she simply agreed. "It's true. Willow did some magical thing and tada...multiple Buffys."

His head was beginning to hurt, his senses were already on overload. "Multiple Buffy's huh?" 

Not missing the mischievous glint in his eye, she playfully swatted him across the chest. Taking the opportunity to put some distance between them, she went a took a seat next to Faith. 

"Not really, I mean they're not me. Willow performed a glamour, so that a couple of the potentials look like me. It helps keep some of the fire off my back, that's who you saw in Rome. Not me."

Angel circled around his desk, he needed to sit down. This certainly what he had expected to hear. "But Andrew said…"

Buffy held up her hand in an effort to cut him off, "Andrew is an idiot". 

"He said you didn't trust me."

A thick silence hung between them, they had always been able to read each other better than either of them would ever admit. He was hurt, and for just a fraction of a second her first instinct was to go to him and alleviate all his doubts. 

"I'll always trust you Angel, I'm just not sure I know who you are anymore."

Her words stung more than he had expected them too, but she was right. There was a time that they knew each other better than anyone on this Earth. He briefly wondered if the others had discovered all of her ticks, the ones that made her distinctly Buffy, that for so long belonged solely to him. 

For instance, did Spike know that when she was really turned on, she would constantly move her feet under the covers, almost as though she was playing footsie with herself? Clearing those thoughts from his mind, he agreed.

"You're right, a lot has changed."

Without missing a beat, she stared back at those chocolate orbs, she wasn't the only one who had changed. "Like you're new girlfriend?" 

Relaxing back into his chair, he let out another unneeded breath. Nina… he had nearly forgotten all about her. "She's not my girlfriend, at least I don't think she is."

"So it's not serious? But you were kissing her…" Buffy knew she had absolutely no right to be jealous, but she couldn't help but feel a little hurt. According to him she was supposed to move on, he wasn't. 

"We don't really have a label Buffy." He really didn't want to dissect his relationship with Nina right now, wasn't it just an hour he was thinking about how nice their simplicity was. 

"So you're involved… physically?"

Angel shifted uncomfortably in his seat, "Not to be rude Buffy, but I don't really see how that's your business."

"What about your soul?" 

If it were possible Angel's face paled even more than usual. Of all the ways he imagined having this conversation, he never once thought of this scenario. He didn't have to tell her, but he didn't want to lie to her. Ever. 

"It's no longer an issue." 

She felt nauseous, how many times had she imagined hearing those words. She fought the tears threatening to form with every fiber of her being. "How?" 

He could see the battle waging inside of her, they had to take the gold metal for worst timing in history. 

Had she just shown up 24 hours earlier, then he was sure this conversation would have been totally different. 

"When I agreed to take over Wolfram & Hart, it was one of my stipulations. I couldn't risk Angelus ever having this much power. It can still be removed by magic, if there was ever some need... But the clause, its gone." 

Suddenly Faith felt very out of place. Sure, hearing Buffy tell Angel about the Immortal and his mishap in Rome entertaining as hell. But this was turning into some deep shit, that even she didn't feel comfortable intruding on. "Listen, you two look like you could use a minute. I'm gonna go find someone with a cigarette."

After Faith left an awkward silence once again fell between them. Buffy was studiously picking the invisible lint from her knee cap, as Angel watched completely unsure what to say. 

What felt like an eternity later, but in fact was probably only seconds, Buffy looked up to meet his gaze once again. Only this time all those barriers she usually held in place were slowly crumbling. Her eyes were red and full of unshed tears, Angel stood and walked back around his desk. Crouching down to her level, he pulled her hand into his. "I was going to tell you, first in Sunnydale, and then in Rome. I would never keep this from you Buffy, I just hadn't had the opportunity. Until now." 

"And you're sure?" Unable to hold his gaze she reverted to picking the invisible lint on her knee. "I mean, you've tested it… With Nina?"

He really did not want to answer that. Gently squeezing her hand, he stayed silent for a few moments longer. Attempting to think of the best way he could answer that without hurting her. 

"Sex was never the issue Buffy." When her eyes shot up to his, he was quick to clarify. "The curse wasn't a sex curse, it was designed so that a moment of Perfect…" 

"Angel, it's me. I'm pretty sure I remember the terms."

"Well I didn't loose my soul just because we had sex Buffy. You're the only woman I have ever loved in all of my 280...ish years on this planet. So the answer to your question is No. I haven't pushed the boundaries of the curse with Nina because it wouldn't be possible. The stuff with her is extremely new, now I won't deny that things have been physical between us, but I'm not in love with her. 

The sound of someone bursting through the door startled the two of them, causing Angel to jump to his feet. 

"Why hello, pet."


	3. Chapter Three

"SPIKE!" Angel had growled, obviously annoyed at his childes intrusion. Didn't anyone understand what a closer door meant these days. 

Even though she had known he was back, it was still strange to see him in front of her. Standing, she walked stopping just a couple feet from him. Neither of them said anything for some time as they enjoyed simply drinking in the others presence. 

Closing the distance between them, while ignoring the daggers that were coming from Angel's eyes, Spike pulled her into his embrace. Finally releasing a breath he hadn't known he'd been holding, he'd nearly forgotten how nice she smelled. Unable to control himself, he shot Angel a wink just before he placed a kiss to her forehead. 

Angel was seething, there was nothing he wanted more than to tear Spike's head from his body, and dance upon his ashes. When he winked at him it took all 100 years of his learnt control not to snap. 

Buffy's mind was reeling, to say it had been an emotion filled day was an understatement. For once all she wanted was a nice glass of wine, or five, and her bed. Looking up into Spikes crystal blue eyes, she couldn't help but reach up to trace his brow line, "I've really missed you". 

Those were the last words he heard before the ground felt as though it moved beneath his feet. A searing crack to his jaw sent him flying backwards with such force that he was sure it would bruise. Shaking the stars that formed behind his eyes away, he only then realized he was lodged into the drywall. 

Prying himself down, he looked first to Angel only to notice the smug grin he was wearing, meaning it had been Buffy who had tried to use him as a wrecking ball. 

"What the bloody hell was that for!?"

Buffy looked at him like he had grown two heads. "Are you kidding me? You've been back from the grave for how long exactly, and you didn't even think I was worth a phone call." 

Spike started to take another step towards her, but when she held up a finger, he choose to do the smart thing and stay where he was. "I was going to tell you love. Hell I tried last week in Rome, but you were too busy out with Mr. Sophisticated to give us, the two most important vampires in your sodding life the time of day." 

Rolling her eyes, she glanced to where she was sure Angel was still disemboweling Spike with his eyes. "Us, huh. It's good to see the two of you have bonded." Angel just ignored her. 

"I wasn't in Rome Spike…"

Spike finally did take another step towards her only to stop when he heard a low growl emanating from Angel. 

Buffy spun around fully facing Angel once again, "Can we stop with the testosterone show please? I just witnessed you kissing your new "girlfriend". You have no right." 

Snickering, Spike almost forgot how much he enjoyed watching the slayer check Angelus. "Ummm let me guess. Willow." 

Shocked, Buffy looked back to Spike. How could he possibly have known, as if he could read her mind he just shrugged, as he dug a cigarette out of his coat pocket. "I got a closer look than your boy here, the chick, the Buffy look alike, she had blue eyes. Might want to mention that to Red." 

Both Angel and Buffy stood shocked, "And you didn't feel that you should mention this because…" Angel asked dumbfounded. 

"Ehhh, I wasn't sure honestly. Been drinking a lot of tequila, besides I enjoyed watching you squirm peaches. So let me guess decoy? Smart move." Spike finally found the lighter he had been searching for in the back pocket of his jeans, lighting his cigarette, he took a long drag before exhaling while staring right into Angel's eyes. 

Angel just shook his head, walking over he plopped down on the couch across his office. Pinching the bridge of his nose, he briefly wondered if vampires could get migraines. He was spent, and it was barely noon, he had no idea how he was supposed to make it through the rest of this day. 

Looking from him to Angel, she honestly wondered how they hadn't killed each other yet. 

"Pretty much." She quipped.

Attempting to dust the flakes of drywall and dust off his leather coat, he looked for somewhere to put his cigarette out, spotting Angel's favorite mug, he quickly dropped it into the pint of blood. 

"Right, well…. Looked like you two were in the middle of something. I'm assuming you're going to be here for a while? What hotel are you booked in, there's a lot we should catch up on, you know…" he gestured toward Angel, "When it's less awkward". 

Sighing, she wasn't really sure what to say. They hadn't booked a room yet, and their plan had been to leave back for Cleveland first thing in the morning, though there was something telling her she should stay for a bit. "I'm not sure honestly, our plan was kind of in and out. But I'll talk to Faith, I'm sure she wouldn't mind staying a few days. I think she misses California." 

"Y'all should just stay here."

Buffy looked Angels way, "That's really not necessary, I'm sure we can find someplace.." 

"There's basically a hotel upstairs, full size apartments for upper level employees. Most of them are vacant, aside from me and my team, no one stays in them. Not anymore." 

She couldn't really argue with that.

"Okay, thanks." At that Spike nodded, telling her that he would be by later that night, making sure to flip Angel off as he turned to leave.

Angel looked exhausted, and not just from their earlier conversation. No, he looked completely drained. Though she expected not just anyone would notice that, not the way she would. There was that instinct again, to go to him, to comfort him. 

His earlier words swirled through her mind,  _ 'I'm not in love with her _ ',  _ 'You're the only person I've loved in 280 years _ '... Surely he meant past tense right? 

Taking the seat next to him on the sofa, she made sure to leave enough space between them so that they weren't touching. 

"Angel?"

"Hmm," he didn't even bother lifting his head, he just turned to look at her. He always forgot how beautiful she was, it was as though his mind protected him from total misery by dulling his memory. 

"Are you okay?" 

He had literally been the head of most evil law firm in this entire dimension for months. His grandchilde drove him to the brink of insanity on a daily basis, he had been trying to navigate the black thorn for weeks, and yet he couldn't even remember the last time someone had asked him that simple question. 

Reaching over, he threaded his fingers through her own, and brought her hand to his lips. "I've got to say, I've been better." 

Buffy inched slightly closer to him, facing him sideways, her knee was barely brushing up against his thigh. "Anything I can help with?"

That earned her a grin from Angel, who simply raised his brow. 

The second the words left her mouth, she wished she could take them back. "Uhh, Umm. Slayerwise, I meant slayerwise." She rambled, unable to the blush from spreading across her cheeks. 

"Dinner."

She was puzzled, "Huh, you need help with dinner"? 

"Have dinner with me."

She looked at him skeptically, "You don't eat".

"I cook." he shrugged. 

"You cook?" 

Angel rubbed his thumb over top of her hand, which was still linked with his. "Okay, I admit. My skills are limited, but I can order."

Buffy wasn't sure she should agree to this. There were all kinds of warning bells sounding off in her head, she had just found out that Angel had a girlfriend, his soul was permanent, and now here he was asking her over for dinner.

"Angel, I don't know if this is such a good idea. You have a girlfriend, or a potential girlfriend, or whatever, and your souls permanent. Dinner alone, sounds a lot like a date." 

"Fine, then invite Faith."

OoOoO

Buffy stepped out of the shower, wiping the mirror in attempt to clear the fog, she wished it was as simple to clear her thoughts. Fred, one of Angel's colleagues, that she seemed to recall Willow mentioning, had volunteered to show her which room she could stay in, after their introduction earlier. 

Faith of course had no objections to staying for a few days, but why would she. Everyone here seemed to be her best friend, even Wes seemed to enjoy her company. 

They were supposed to meet at Angel's by six, briefly she wondered if that invitation had been extended to Spike. She didn't exactly have his number to check.

Maybe she could fake sick? Say she threw up 11 times, and just needed to turn in for the night. Realistically she knew that wouldn't work, Angel would just show up here, alone. 

No, that was exactly what she was trying to avoid. 

Only heartache was down that road, even if his soul was permanent. It didn't change anything, not really, not now. Too much time had passed, they lived in separate worlds now. 

Sure she could fuck him, then turn around and go back to Cleveland. Except she couldn't, not only were one night stands not her thing, it was Angel, which pretty much meant the whole premise of a one night stand… "No strings attached" was impossible. 

Not to mention Nina, ugh the thought of that name made her stomach quiver. Suddenly she felt even more guilty about that time she threw Riley in Angel's face. 

A knock on her door shook her from her thoughts, twisting the nob, she was almost relieved to find that it was Spike on the other side. 


	4. Chapter Four

Spike had given her the grand tour, showing her all of the facilities Wolfram & Hart had to offer. He had shown her where everyone's office was, the science lab, all of the training rooms, even the full fledged medical ward where apparently they had reattached his hands. If she were being honest it had given her some serious initiative vibes. 

He told her about everything that had happened to him since Sunnydale. He explained that his first impulse was to run to her, but his whole corporeal issue, and being bound to this place sort of prevented it. He never intended to keep his existence a secret from her, but everytime he thought about ducking out something else would happen. Then after Andrew, he knew the proverbial cat would soon be out of the bag anyway, figured it best to just sit tight. 

"Wait for the aftermath like a good vampire," he joked as they approached Angel's door. 

"Looks like were here pet."

Stopping just outside his door, Buffy turned to look at the blonde vampire once more. She really had missed him, though their time apart had given her some clarity. She loved Spike, he had been there for her when no one else had. He took care of Dawn while she was dead. He had, had her back more times than she cared to count, he had given his life to save the world. To save hers. 

But over the last year she figured out that as much as she loved Spike, she wasn't in love with him. She never had been, her physical relationship with Spike was one of the few things that she truly regretted in this life. Not the act itself, but more so what it represented. 

The darkness had nearly swallowed her whole, and Spike was a major reason why she made it through. Again, not because she loved him...but because she used him. She knowingly pushed him down to pull herself up, and that was what she regretted. 

"So you and Angel, you've been good? I mean obviously you have been working...” Cutting her off mid sentence, Spike held up his hand to stop her from speaking. She could tell there was an internal debate going on inside of him, eventually coming to a conclusion within himself he sighed, rolling his eyes. 

"Listen pet, repeat this and I'll deny it. But I think the bloke actually likes having me around. I mean Captain Forehead, and I don't have a lot in common, but I’ll be damned if I let someone else put a stake in his heart." Buffy wasn't sure what to say, Spike and Angel had always hated each other. Sometimes people really did surprise you. They both hesitated for a moment, but then each of them laughed at their own awkwardness as she stepped into his waiting arms. 

Taking a second to just relish in the moment, how many times had he imagined this? Spike wasn't sure. But what he was sure of, was that she wasn't his, never had been if he was being honest with himself. It took him a long time to get to that realization though, even longer to accept it. Taking one more breath, he attempted to commemorate her scent deep into his memory. 

"Would you believe that he actually thinks you would choose me over him?"

Buffy's head lifted at the sound of his words, meeting his eyes, a wave of guilt washed through her. "Spike..

I never meant. I didn't mean. I'm sorry," she finally resided.

A small smile spread across lips as he stepped back, and released his hold on her. He knew she hadn't meant to hurt him, still he couldn't really blame her. He had done his fair share of hurting people over the years, way worse than she could ever imagine. Besides, she was the reason he was reformed. Angel was right about one thing, she really was the key to salvation.

"It's okay love. Honestly, I've always known it was him. Even when it was me, it was him... Those nights when you would screw your eyes closed so tightly that I was sure they would never open again. Ya pet, I knew it wasn’t me you were with." 

Averting her eyes, she couldn't look at him for fear that he would see the truth. A truth that she had refused to admit, even to herself. 

OoOoO

Angel opted for comfort, and ditched his business attire as soon as he got upstairs. There weren't very many people he felt this comfortable around these days, besides his team of course. Faith having followed him up from the office was already there, sprawled across his couch channel surfing. He had left the take out option up to her, leaving one of his credit cards out by the phone, while he took a shower.

Taking two glasses down from the cabinet, he dropped a sphere of ice into each, before filling them with whiskey. As he was walking over, Faith moved her legs from the couch to the coffee table, giving him room to sit. Silently taking the glass from him, she smelled the amber liquid. "Man, less than 24-hours and the chicks already got you breaking out the good stuff. That's some power." 

Letting his head fall back on the couch, he closed his eyes, he definitely hadn't imagined his day ending like this.

"Ha, which one?".

Faith raised her eyebrows, she was curious about this new girl, but she hadn't wanted to be the one to bring her up.

"Is it serious?"

Pinching the bridge of his nose with his free hand, he wasn't sure how things had become so complicated so fast. He wasn't even sure what the definition of "serious" was, had they had sex? Yes. Had they discussed where their relationship stood, not so much...hence the sex. Was he planning a marriage proposal? Of course not. 

He couldn't answer these questions for himself, much less someone else. 

"Depends on what your definition of serious is," he sighed. 

"Well on a scale of… oh I don't know zero to Buffy, what are we talking about here?" She had been witness to the tragedy that was Buffy and Angel, she hadn't been present for some of the more damaging times, but she had witnessed enough to know how deeply their love ran. That it wasn't just the stuff you ran across everyday, or every lifetime. 

Letting out a long unneeded breath, he finished off his whiskey before replying. "She's not Buffy," he answered simply. Suddenly wondering why he hadn't just grabbed the entire bottle, he stood to get it from the kitchen.

"Do you wish she was?" she asked over the backside of the couch. 

That was the question he had been asking himself all day. He had spent so long, so many years trying to push Buffy from his thoughts, after Rome last week he thought might actually be able too. He knew now that he had been kidding himself. One look at her this morning with her eyes full of tears, and he was ready to walk away.

From Los Angeles, from Wolfram & Hart, from everything. The moment he learned that his soul was no longer an issue, his first instinct was to run to her. The biggest obstacle in their entire relationship, obliterated just like that. 

Last year when he took the amulet to Sunnydale, he had played out a thousand different scenarios in his head during the drive. None of which ended with her turning him away, because of Spike. 

He had heard rumors, the demonic underground was notably small considering. She was his mate by vampiric law, and his wife by Irish tradition. News traveled fast. Spike was lucky he lived long enough to wear that amulet. He wouldn't have, had Angel not betrayed her just as deeply by impregnating Darla. 

"Buffy's the love of my life, that's never going to change. But there hasn't been anything between us in a long time, I don't know if we could ever go back. I don't even know if that's something she wants." They had both been through so much the last few years, and had so little contact. They were virtually strangers, and as much as it pained him to admit it, Spike was right… he didn't even know her anymore. 

"She misses you." Angel's head jerked towards her as he sat back down, liquor in hand.

"I mean she doesn't say anything, not to me, but I can tell. When she knows that we've talked or she thinks that I'm on the phone with you… she gets this look." 

"A look," he deadpanned, eyebrows raised. 

Shrugging her shoulders, Faith reached passed him for whiskey. "Hey, I'm no love expert. I'm just saying that between you and me, what you and B had… some people never get to experience that."

Leaning over, she grabbed the liquor bottle from his hands. "And since I'm basically here to play chaperone, I'll be taking that." 

OoOoO

Stepping forward, she hesitated for only a brief second before she knocked on the door. She wasn't sure why she was so nervous. Angel used to be the one person who calmed her, that could actually make her feel like everything was going to be okay. 

Feeling Spike behind her, she felt his breath on her ear when he whispered, "Daddy's home, pet."

Looking back, she was stunned to find the hallway empty. He knew how much she hated the disappearing acts.

"Buffy." Angel whispered as he opened the door.

"Spike?" She questioned peering further down the hall.

"Uhh, no?" 

Buffy turned back around to find Angel standing in the doorway, "Huh?".

"What?" Angel questioned confused, was she really expecting Spike to be there.

"No," she shook her head trying to clear the confusion. 

"I mean, Hi." She trailed off, hoping that he would drop the subject, knowing that Spike probably wasn't Angel's favorite topic. Taking a second to drink him in, she noticed that he seemed more like the Angel she remembered, and less like Angel the CEO. Even his hair was still damp from a shower, biting back the urge to run her fingers through it, she once again met his eyes.

"Hey," he whispered softly, taking a step back to let her through the door. 

Once she was inside, his hand instinctively went to the small of her back as he guided her towards the living area. Faith had conveniently moved to the loveseat, leaving only the couch for the two of them.

Buffy immediately noticed how comfortable Faith seemed to be in his home, and she couldn't deny the stab of jealousy it caused. Noting the liquor bottle in her hand, Buffy quirked a brow.

"Is this a drinking party?" 

Faith smiled, holding up her glass in salute. "We can certainly make it one."

"I mean, as long as it's not beer. No one needs a repeat of Cave Buffy." 

Returning from the kitchen with a third glass, he placed it on the table in front of her. Noticing that she had sat in the middle, part of him was glad for the excuse to be close to her. 

"Cave Buffy?" he questioned as he leaned forward filling the glasses. 

Buffy shifted slightly so that she was facing him. Taking the glass he had brought her, she let out a small gasp when her finger tips brushed up against his own. Shaking her head, she smiled up at him. "It was a thing, the beer on campus turned people into cavemen. Not really one of my finest moments." 

The awkward tension that surrounded them slowly began to dissipate as the night wore on. Probably thanks to the massive amounts of alcohol they were consuming, but eventually all three of them fell into an easy conversation. The food arrived shortly after Buffy and was promptly devoured by the girls, while Angel sipped on a mug of O-negative. 

They had spent the last several hours telling each other stories of past battles each of them had faced since Angel left Sunnydale. Buffy told them about Giles being turned into a demon by Ethan Rayne, and Dawn's near miss, when her first date ended up being with a vampire. Faith made a joke about it running in the family, which earned her a scowl from both of them. 

She also told them a couple of prison stories that had Buffy laughing so hard, she was in tears. Angel had glossed over certain heavier aspects of his life, such as Connor and his questionable feelings for Cordelia, but he had very much been part of the conversation. Which he had to admit he had actually enjoyed. 

The more alcohol they consumed, the bolder they became, throughout the night each of them kept finding excuses to touch the other. A brush of her thighs, a grip to his knee, his hand eventually found hers and entwined it with his own. She knew it was from the alcohol, but she swore the pattern he was tracing with his thumb was bordering erotic. 

Faith was now lightly snoring on the loveseat, after mumbling something about staying the night. The temperature in the room seemed to increase by the second. Buffy was definitely buzzed but she was far from drunk, she was very much aware of her surroundings. 

Too aware even. 

It was getting late, but after the last couple of hours he just wasn't ready to let her go, not yet. This was the first time they had really had a chance to talk, to catch up on each others lives since he left her. Well besides the day that she didn't remember, and the reality of how much he missed her was quickly setting in. 

Their chaperone had officially failed her duties by passing out and leaving them alone. Buffy's head lay on his shoulder, as they both pretended to pay attention to whatever Faith had put on the television. Leaning down he placed a gentle kiss on her forehead. "You can stay too, if you want. You can have the bed, I'll sleep out here with Faith." 

He couldn't help but chuckle at the way she looked at him, "I meant on the couch Buffy, you know Faith and I, we are strictly friends". 

Buffy turned, shifting next to him, she surprised him by sliding onto his lap and straddling him. His hands naturally found their way to her waist, his thumbs slipping just under her shirt, teasing the skin at her sides, as he gripped her hips. 

Buffy leaned forward lightly running her nose up the side of his neck, her lips hovering just above the skin. She softly nipped at his ear with blunt teeth, before raising her head to lay against his own. She could taste his breath, as she softly traced her nose against his, in an effort to torment him. "You are delusional if you think there is a universe where I leave you to sleep with Faith… in ANY fashion." 

They were treading into dangerous territory, his body was quickly responding to the call of its mate. Unable to resist any longer, he kissed her lips softly taking just a moment to taste her before breaking away, "We shouldn't be doing this". 

He immediately regretted his words when Buffy pulled back, wearing an expression of devastation. "Right. You're girlfriend. I'm sorry, I just, I dunno, the alcohol, and reminiscing, but you're right. I should go."

Angel had to forcibly hold her to him, why did everyone keep saying that he had a girlfriend. Grabbing her by the hips, he pulled her body flush against his own, before devouring her lips once again. 

This time he didn't hold back, and by the time she broke away gasping for air, her lips were swollen, and she had all but forgotten what they were talking about.

"She's not my girlfriend, but things are complicated. I want you Buffy, I will always want you," he emphasized his words by thrusting his aching cock against her hot center, eliciting a soft moan from her. "But I don't want to rush this, there's lots we need to discuss… sober. Before we decide anything, before we know if we can move forward." 

A tiny smile graced her features as she ever so gently rocked her hips against his own. It had been so long since they were allowed touch like this without fear, and here he was preaching practicality. 

"If I stay, will you sleep with me?" 

Angel eyed her wearily, "Buffy I don't know if that's a good idea…" it had been a very long time since he pushed his self control to those limits, but he knew it was pointless to argue. He had never been very good at denying her anything, "Fine, but we are sleeping, WITH clothes on." 

Angel stood with her still in his arms, but instead of her standing up, she simply locked her legs around him. Gripping her ass, he moved towards his room, while silently praying for strength.


	5. Chapter Five

Angel had woken before sunrise, that internal alarm impossible to ignore. Except, this morning instead of hiding from its rays, he welcomed them. 

Carefully dislodging himself from her grasp, he slipped out of bed, quickly padding across the carpeted floor he quietly opened the curtains. He couldn't wait to see her bathed in the light of the morning sun, it was something he hadn't even been able experience that lost Thanksgiving due to living in the basement. 

Slipping back under the covers, he gently pulled her back up against him, so that her head was pillowed against his chest. His life was a mess, he was barely keeping things contained around here, he had no idea how she was supposed to fit back in, but he was tired of missing her. Placing a kiss to the crown of her head, he held her to him just a little tighter. 

When he had carried her to bed last night, she wasted no time discarding her jeans and blouse, snagging the t-shirt he had thrown down instead. He had quickly learned that when she was drunk, there was no holding back, and she had no shame. When she shimmied out of her jeans without breaking eye contact with him, then pulled her shirt over her head, he nearly lost it. Reaching for her, she playfully pushed his hand away and snagged his shirt.

_ "With clothes, remember?"  _ She had teased, repeating his words.

Once they were in bed, she scooted over to him, her arm held him tightly as she used his chest as a pillow. "We've never done this before you know?" 

His hands idly played with the ends of her hair. "Gotten drunk together?"

Chuckling into his side, she looked up at him through heavy lashes. "No. We've never stayed the night together, well I mean my birthday doesn't really count." 

Placing a kiss to his bare chest, she whispered, "Just make sure you're here when I wake up this time." 

He had to bite his tongue, he had nearly corrected her, saying how they had spent a whole night together once, thankfully he stopped himself just in time. Holding her to him, he simply kissed her brow in response. As he began to count the steady beats of her heart, they drifted off to a peaceful sleep. 

The first thing she noticed when she woke, before she even opened her eyes, was that she was pillowed against someone's bare chest. For a split second she nearly panicked, until the previous nights memories came flooding back. 

She knew, that he knew she was awake, they may have never spent the night together, but he had spent countless hours watching her sleep...

"Goodmorning, beautiful." He whispered, kissing the top of her head. 

Instead of answering him, she mumbled incoherently as she pulled the covers up to her chin, and moved her leg over his own, accidentally brushing up against the thick length of him in the process. Good thing he had insisted on clothes last night. 

Her eyes finally dared to open, shifting she propped herself up so she could see him, taking a moment just to bask in the sight before her. 

"Hmm. This feels like a dream." She finally murmured, meeting his gaze. Angel just stared back at her, she was absolutely breathtaking. 

"Ugh, except for the pounding headache." Leaning over, Angel opened the drawer to his nightstand, pulling out a bottle of pain killers, he handed them to her, along with a water he had grabbed for her earlier. 

"Mmmm, you're the best." She told him as she quickly swallowed two of the pills and downed half the water, before cuddling back up next to him. 

They laid there for a few more minutes, but gone was the ease of last night. Under the influence of alcohol, everything made sense. Questions, concerns, weren't really a priority. But now in the harsh light of day, it all threatened to drown them.

Buffy absentmindedly doodled patterns down his bare chest. When she could no longer stand the silence she finally spoke. "I guess it's time we have that sober conversation."

Angel grabbed onto her hand, stopping its motion before he went crazy from it, threading their fingers together, he brought them to his lips.

"Ya, I guess it is." 

Sitting up, he leaned back against the headboard, his sculpted body taunted her. She too followed his lead, making sure to put a little distance between them as she sat up. 

" _ Soo _ , tell me about Nina."

He let his head fall to the side so that he could see her. Her hair hair was rumpled from sleep, his black shirt hung off one of her shoulders exposing his faded mark, he could see glimpses of her thighs peeking out from under the sheets. The sunlight created a warm glow around her, she was hands down the most beautiful woman he had ever seen. 

"She was bit by a werewolf, she needed help. Downstairs there's a cage where she can't hurt anyone. We’re not together, I mean I don't think we are anyway. I care about her..." Angel trailed off, he could tell how uncomfortable this was making her.

He hated that they had to have this conversation. Taking one of her hands in his, he whispered, "Come here". Tugging on her until she relented, she eventually allowed him to pull her onto his lap.

His hands slid down guiding her thighs to straddle him, his cock throbbed at the contact, he could feel the heat of her through the flimsy material of his boxers.

It had been so long since she was this close to him, she had to stifle a moan when she felt him twitch below her. Biting her bottom lip, she looked up at him waiting for him to continue. 

"She's not you Buffy, no one is. We were both lonely, I needed someone and she was there... Plus I thought you were seeing The Immortal. She's a good person and under different circumstances I think you might actually like her." 

Buffy rolled her eyes, grumbling. "Like I would like a knife in the back."

Biting back a laugh, and despite the serious conversation, he couldn't seem to keep his hands still. Rubbing tiny circles on her thighs, he slowly began inching his way up toward her lacy thong. 

"I love you." 

Startled, her eyes shot to his. Those were heavy words, they had never thrown them around lightly. 

Even when they were together. 

Lacing her fingers around his neck, she leaned in, touching her nose to his, she had to fight back the tears threatening to form. "I love you." 

She hesitated for only a second before closing the distance between them. At first their kiss was tentative, soft. Her tongue slipped out and grazed his teeth silently seeking entry, he let her slowly explore for a few seconds, before taking over, their tongues battling. 

Eventually they were both panting, and the need to breathe caused Buffy to reluctantly pull away. Resting her head against his shoulder, she attempted to steady her breathing. 

"Well that hasn't changed." she whispered looking up at him from under her lashes. 

Angel was struggling to maintain control, he could smell her arousal permeating from between her thighs. It didn't help matters that his was painfully obvious. It was taking everything in him not to thrust against her hot center.

"I don't think that ever will." Angel said quickly kissing her one last time. He needed to put some distance between them, taking a deep breath he let his head fall back, closing his eyes he attempted to recite the alphabet...in Gaelic… backwards.

Buffy could feel how hard he was, solidly twitching against her, it had been so long since they were allowed this intimacy. After he came back from hell they were careful, but they were hardly the saints her friends liked to think they were. On occasion they allowed their passion for one another to take over. More than once Angels face wound up buried between her thighs. 

Slowly her hips began to rock against his own, the movement so subtle, he wasn't sure if he was imagining it until he felt her lips brush against his neck. She took her time exploring him, using her blunt teeth she gently bit his neck just above his collar-bone. 

"God, Buffy." He moaned breathlessly. His hands traveled up her thighs, and underneath his shirt, holding her hips he ground her against him. It was Buffy's turn to moan, but before any sound could escape, Angel attacked her lips once more.

The friction between them was almost too much to bare, Buffy was quickly losing her composure. Her hands traced down his arms, up his chest, and back through his dark hair. She had almost forgotten what this felt like, to really lose control. 

His hands slowly traced up her thighs and over her hips, snaking under her shirt, he grabbed the hem pulling it over her head. Breaking their kiss just long enough to discard it somewhere to the side.

Shifting his hold on her, he quickly flipped them so Buffy was lying beneath him. Her legs attempted to encircle him, as her knees gripped his hips. The world seemed to fade away, the only thing that existed in the entire universe was them, right now, right here. His cock was so hard he thought surely there would be lasting damage, his balls were full and heavy, aching for release. In an attempt to find some sort of relief he ground harder against her hot center, the smell of her arousal annihilating his senses. Fueling his own desire. 

Suddenly it wasn't enough, he wanted, he needed more. He left a trail of sweet kisses down her jaw, then her neck, before bending his head slightly to capture a lace covered nipple, causing Buffy to gasp. 

"God, Angel you feel..."

Whatever she was going to say was lost as he snapped open the front clasp of her bra, revealing her breast. Her nipples were peaked, without thought his attention returned to them, teasingly he licked ever so gently over one then the other. "Mmm. Please, Angel...please."

Buffy wasn't even sure what she was begging him for, she didn’t know if she wanted him to stop, or go faster. All she knew was that she was going to explode. Literally every nerve in her body was on fire and she needed him to put out the flame. 

His mouth clamped down on her left breast nipping and sucking until she was writhing beneath him, her hips now moving involuntarily, seeking him, seeking relief.

She had forgotten how much control this man commanded over her body. He was definitely the only one to ever have the power to turn her into a whimpering mess just by kissing her. Feeling his hands begin to work her panties down caused her to suck in a quick breath, old habits died hard. 

Angel realizing the tension her body now held, slowly released her breast and gently kissed his way back up her neck. Resting his forehead against hers he opened his eyes to find her emerald orbs staring back at him. 

"Mo grá."

Tears slowly filled her eyes, back in Sunnydale he use to whisper things in Gaelic to her, most she didn't remember but that was something he had told her in his bed on her 17th birthday.

"Shhh, no tears." Angel rubbed his nose alongside hers as he gently trailed a hand between her thighs. His fingers worked slowly, teasing her as he traced along the line of her slick folds. 

"Buffy, tell me to stop, tell me we should slow down." He desperately pleaded.

Her eyes popped back open to look into his, but even as the words left his lips, his fingers found her entrance. Slowly he inserted one as he stared back, never breaking his gaze. Unable to contain the moan that escaped her, or stop her body from clenching around him, she quietly began chanting his name. 

When he withdrew his finger Buffy pouted sticking out her lower lip, which Angel quickly sucked between his own.

"It's not nice to tease," she whimpered when he finally broke away. 

Using his fingers to tease her entrance once again, he wasn't quite entering her, but it was still driving her crazy. She was not beyond begging, at this point there was no way she could function if he left her like this.

He went back to tracing her folds, finally reaching her clit, he circled the small nub intent on driving her mad.

He spoke softly into her ear."There's nothing on this Earth I've missed more than this." Her hips rocked against his fingers, her hands alternated from clutching his sheets, to trailing paths down his chest, to around his neck. Every fiber of her being was pleading with him for more. 

Unable to deny her any longer, he moved his hand so that his thumb was applying pressure directly where she needed it. 

Immediately the sound of Buffy’s moans filled the room, and if he hadn't had 250 plus years of experience behind him he would have came right then.

She was nearly incoherent but still he knew she needed more to send her over the edge. Teasingly he gently pushed a digit back into her tight channel, her entire body began to shake with anticipation.

A fever pulsed through her veins, every muscle taught, every breath heavy, she couldn’t even form a complete thought. Release was imminent, she could almost see the stars begin to explode. 

Then there was  _ nothing _ .

The weight of Angel disappeared, his fingers were gone, she suddenly felt hollow. Opening her eyes, she saw Angel grasp at something and with an unnatural speed pull the comforter up to cover them. 

Confused, Buffy opened her mouth to speak when she heard an all too familiar voice from behind her.

"Oh Shit!"

"Seriously!? Lock a door, hang a white rag, Jeez." Faith pressed her palms into her eyes in an attempt to clear the image that had been seared into her brain. 

“Faith!” Angel growled, clearly displeased at the interruption. Buffy’s legs were entwined with his, still shaking uncontrollably from her near release. The demon inside him was screaming to snap her neck, anything to make her disappear so he could resume things with Buffy. 

She turned so that her back was to them, trying to give them some semblance of privacy, she really hadn't expected to walk in on this. She had assumed B went home after she crashed last night, now she really didn't want to play the messenger. “Sorry big guy, you're phone wouldn't stop ringing. Then some chick named Eve just sort of appeared, she said to let you know… umm well." 

His patience was wavering, as he still held Buffy's quivering body up next to his, her face was turned into him, her hot breath tickling his neck. 

"What?" He managed out through clenched teeth. 

Faith took a breath, hanging her head. "Nina's waiting in your office."


	6. Chapter Six

Angel felt Buffy's entire body tense beside him, once Faith was gone, he slowly looked down meeting her eyes. Cursing under his breath, he wasn't sure what to say as she slowly released her hold on him. 

Sitting up, she looked away, looking anywhere but at him, she held the sheet close to her with trembling hands. Embarrassment flooded through her, she had forgotten how easy it was to lose control when she was with him. 

“I’m sorry…” Angel shook his head interrupting her, “Don't," he said trying to reach out to her. When she turned away from him, he felt completely defeated. Letting his head back onto his pillow, he released a frustrated sigh. 

"Do you want me to end things with her?"

Buffy’s mouth was gaping, her brain must not be functioning properly. "Do you want to end it with her,” she shot back. 

This conversation was not heading in the right direction. Tilting his head to look at her, he reached out once again softly trailing his fingers down the back of her arm. This time she didn't pull away from him, that was something. 

She hated this, she hated how much she wanted him, she hated how much she needed him, she hated how much she missed him… She hated how much she felt like the other woman. 

The sound of her sniffling nearly undid him, "Come here," he whispered as he forcibly pulled her to him. It broke his heart to see her like this, the last thing he wanted to do was hurt her, again. Rolling over, he wrapped his arms around her as she buried her face against his chest. "I didn't mean to hurt you." 

Everything was blurry as she looked at him, she hated crying too. "But you always do."

As soon as the words left her mouth she regretted them, she hadn't meant it, not like that. She wasn't trying to hurt him either, if anything the last 24-hours had reminded her just how much she missed him. 

He didn't respond, but his silence spoke volumes. Running her hand along his cheek, she turned his face back to hers. "Angel, I'm sorry. I didn't mean it, I'm just… frustrated I guess." 

He may have been approaching his third century, but he was still a man, and when she said that she was frustrated he couldn't stop the quirk of his brow. 

"Frustrated? Well that I can help with," he grinned. 

She allowed him to place a quick kiss to her lips, before pushing him back. "You really can't," she groaned. 

Angel just looked at her like he was about to take on a challenge, that she wasn't offering. "I meant, I didn't mean... I know that you  _ can,"  _ trailing off she was trying to find the words."Trust me, you're the best at it..." she stopped again when she noticed the smug smile he was wearing.

Taking a deep breath, she took on a serious stature once more. "I just think you should figure out your other…." she just couldn't bring herself to say relationship. " _ Business _ . Before we can really figure out anything about us." 

"Us?" He repeated softly.

Buffy was suddenly very aware that her naked body was pressed firmly against him. Somehow his hand had traveled beneath the sheet, running a path up and down the curve of her hip. Had he always been this irresistible. 

"Maybe." 

He really didn't understand why she was making such a big deal over Nina, but he was smart enough to know not to question it. That wasn't the conversation he was worried about. "Maybe?"

His hands continued to roam her body, rounding her ass to pull their lower halves closer. Her eyes fell closed once more as a small sigh escaped her, her body was still tingling with the need. Walking her fingers up his neck, she placed two across his lips in an effort to silence him. Her other hand that had been resting against his chest between them, slowly started making it's way down his stomach. 

He didn't dare speak, or move for fear that she would stop. Unnecessary breaths puffed from him chest, as her finger teased the band of his boxers. His angry cock, throbbed between them almost as if it was reaching for her. 

Removing her finger from his mouth, she wrapped them around his neck, pulling him to kiss her once again. As soon as she tasted his tongue, her hand reached inside his boxers, immediately taking hold of him, thoroughly working him with her hand. For once it was Angel who broke away from her panting, "You remember how I used to tell you when we were getting to that point of no return?" 

Abandoning his lips, she began placing small open mouthed kisses down his neck, gently biting the spots she knew were more sensitive. "Uh-huh," she managed out, as she used her thumb to circle the engorged head of his dick. 

"We're about there," he growled as she continued to tease him. 

She had almost forgotten how much she loved the power she had over him. Before her 17th birthday she use to love work him up to that edge, to have this man, one of the most feared vampires in all of history...breathless, speechless, begging. It gave her the ultimate rush, a high almost, that she had never experienced with anyone since. 

Angel was nearly out of his mind, his thighs repeatedly brushed against her own as he was no longer able to control their movements. He was teetering on the edge, and when she snaked her other hand down, using both to work him, he couldn't help the deep moan that escaped. Shifting to his back, to give her better access, he watched through hooded eyes as she went from kissing his neck, to his chest, to his stomach. 

His fingers tangled in her hair as she became level with his aching erection. He hadn't let her attempt this very many times. Simply because he didn't trust himself not to turn her over, and show her exactly who owned her body, remind her just who she really belonged too. 

Buffy watched as a bead of moisture formed at his tip, using one hand to gently cup his aching balls, she used the other to grip his base. Flickering her eyes to his, she licked her lips before slowly engulfing his swollen purple head into her mouth, relishing in the salty flavor that was uniquely him. 

She took her time exploring, remembering just how he liked to be touched. His fingers were tangled within her hair, but he didn't force her head down or direct her in any way, he simply held on. She noticed when his hips began to thrust with just a slighter sense of urgency, when his cock swelled just a millimeter more. When she knew that he was right at the brink of letting go, just before he was about to whisper, warning her that he was going to come… 

She stopped. 

Letting him fall from her mouth, at the same time her hands released him. She sat up, quickly jumping from the bed, taking the sheet with her. 

Confused his eyes immediately sprung open, he reached out to grab her but she jumped from the bed, and out if his grasp just before his fingers reached her. 

"Come find me if you decide to break up with your girlfriend, lover." 

OoOoO

Angel had no idea what he was going to say to Nina, or how he was going to make things right with Buffy. Hell he wasn’t even sure which should be his priority at the moment. 

Nina was great, they had chemistry. Their relationship was still in its infancy, but it had potential. Buffy on the other hand, well she was Buffy. His entire existence circled back to that woman. No one would ever compare to her, but he wasn’t exactly sure where they stood, or how she felt about a future with him. 

Sure they had nearly fucked each other’s brains out, but sexual desire was never one of their issues. 

Walking over to his personal elevator he punched the button that would take him down to his office. He had showered but Buffy had half joked that if he knew what was good for him, he would steer clear from relieving himself of any  _ tension _ .

So here he was, going to break Nina's heart with the worst case of blue balls he had experienced since Sunnydale. Every step he took reminding him of the ache, his balls still swollen and heavy, throbbing with every movement. 

It was torture.

He still wasn't sure what he was going to say when he saw Nina. But when the doors opened to reveal a tearful Nina staring back at him. It was in that moment he realized, there was nothing to say. 

_ She knew _ . 

“I thought you were going to call,” was all she said as he entered the room. She was obviously upset, and briefly he wondered if she had run into Buffy on the way in, though the ache between his thighs reminded him that was impossible. 

Walking over to where she stood leaning against his desk, he mimicked her stance, standing next to her. “I know. Listen Nina, there’s a lot going on here," he tried to begin.

Nina blew out a long breath cutting him off, she turned towards him, she waited for him to meet her eyes before speaking.“Lots going on with Betty, or lots going on with work?” 

Angel smirked, he would never understand a woman’s pettiness. 

“ _ Buffy _ , and if I’m being honest, both," he told her honestly. Hesitating for only a second, he gently took one of her hands into his own. 

“I don’t want to hurt you. Trust me it was never my intention for her to show up here. After Rome, I had pretty much come to the conclusion that everything between her and I was in the past.” 

Removing her hand from his, Nina turned from his desk to face him head on, “And now your not so sure,” she didn't question, but stated.

He felt horrible, he truly never had intentions of hurting her, she really was the innocent one in this situation. Had he just waited one more day to advance their relationship, they wouldn't even be in this situation. “No, but I want you to know that whatever happens between us. You can always come here, you will always be safe here.” 

A small smile formed on her lips as she stood staring at him. "You’re a good guy Angel, hopefully she realizes that," leaving him with those final words, she turned around and without looking back, walked out of his office and life. 

Angel watched her go silently, there really was nothing left he could say. Once the door closed behind her, he let out a ragged breath and plopped down into the chair behind his desk. At least he'd made it through that, now if he could just get things sorted out with Buffy. 

Though something told him that wasn't going to be nearly as easy. If they were really going to go all in, get back together, then they had a world of things to figure out. 

He was definitely in over his head with this place, and he wanted to keep her as far from its evil depths as possible. He had already set some things in motion, with the Senior Partners, with the Black Thorn. Things that he wasn't even positive he would be able to walk away from once everything was said and done. He didn't know how he was supposed to explain that to her, but maybe with a couple dozen slayers he would have a better shot. 

Even if they could work their way through all of that, they still had years of personal stuff to share with the other. He didn't even pretend to know how to bring up Darla, or Connor. The latter was what he was most worried about, he loved his son, but he knew that his mere existence would shatter Buffy. 

Needing to clear his mind he grabbed his sketch pad from the bottom drawer of his desk, it was a hobby he rarely had time for these days. Knowing he had a couple hours before he Buffy would be back from exploring L.A. with Faith, he flipped open the first blank page. Closing his for a moment as he willed the memory back. He began to draw her face, full of need, on the brink of ecstasy just as she looked this morning, before Faith had interrupted  _ everything _ . 


	7. Chapter Seven

They had spent the majority of the day exploring Los Angeles. Buffy had taken Faith to all of her favorite shopping spots, in true California fashion they had grabbed lunch at In-N-Out burger, and afterwards Buffy had shown Faith her old highschool, Hemery. The place where she was first called as a slayer.

Faith had tried to apologize for interrupting things this morning, but Buffy had quickly shut her down. Telling her that as much as they didn't want to be interrupted, they needed to be. Faith had asked if they were back together, but Buffy had just sighed and asked if they could skip the hard questions for now. 

For once Faith had let it go.

She couldn't answer anyones else's questions about Angel, without being able to answer her own first. She had yet to hear from him, so as far as she knew him and Nina could have made up. She could even be helping to alleviate the problem Buffy had left him with this morning. Though the idea of that made her more than a little nauseous. 

This was exactly why she was hesitant to take up his offer to stay there. She didn't want to risk showing up and running into him and Nina again, especially not after this morning. But now she didn't know where to go, obviously they couldn't go far since Angel had leant Faith the keys to one of his cars, but… she just wished she had heard something from him. 

"I don't mean to sound like a broken record here B, but you could always call him."

Buffy just glared at her out the corner of her eye, she wasn't going to call him, she wasn't that desperate. "No, if he had something to say then he would call. Obviously he doesn't," Buffy said returning her eyes to the road. 

Faith couldn't believe this, she had practically walked in on them fucking this morning, and here they both were waiting for the other one to make the first move. 

These two were going to be the fucking death of her.

Grabbing her phone, she quickly sent a text out asking if it was cool that they stopped by. Immediately, she saw three bubbles pop up, and not a second later she was entering an address into google maps. 

"Who was that and where are we going," Buffy asked confused. 

Faith just smirked in response, "Spike's,".

B wasn't the only one with secrets. 

OoOoO

Angel stood anxiously outside of Spike’s door, he could hear voices, but due to Spikes horrible rendition of White Wedding he couldn’t make out what anyone was saying. He had received a text from Faith earlier, letting him know where they were, and threatening him within an inch of his life if he ever told B she was the one who snitched.

Even though he didn't think there was anything between Buffy and Spike, well not anymore at least. He still couldn't get passed that surge of jealousy that rolled through him when he heard she had gone to his place. He figured after this morning, she would be back before he was even able to break away from the office. 

When afternoon rolled around and he hadn't heard from her, he began to worry. Maybe she had regretted staying last night, maybe he had taken things too far, maybe she had simply changed her mind. They had gone from zero to sixty, but wasn't that what always happened when they were together? 

The last thing he wanted to do was push, the last time they had really spoke about any possibility of a future was in Sunnydale. When she had given him the whole baking speech. He had, had to bite his tongue to keep from telling her that cookie dough was one of his favorite foods. 

Maybe this was her way of telling him she needed time, wanting to leave the ball in her court he told himself he wouldn't call. 

But by the time five o'clock rolled around, when he no longer had meetings or phone calls to keep him busy, he eventually caved. 

Well sort of, he text Faith under the guise of checking on his Ferrari, who in turn happened to mention that they had ended up at Spikes. 

He only hesitated for about half a second, before saying fuck it and heading down to the garage. 

He had nearly turned around three different times, telling himself that had she wanted to see him she would have came back to Wolfram & Hart. Ultimately, the thought of her in the same room as Spike spurred him on. 

After knocking for God only knows how long, he finally gave up and just opened the door. 

Inside the apartment Buffy, Faith, and Spike sat around his kitchen table. Per usual his place was an utter disaster. Ashtrays, and various bottles of liquor were scattered throughout the room. It smelled more like a brothel than an apartment. All three sets of eyes fell on him as he entered, each of them were seated around Spike's foldable kitchen table, and they seemed to be highly vested in… Monopoly? 

“Hey Big Guy! Want to get in on this," Faith winked as she gestured toward the multi colored bored. 

His eyes bounced to each of theirs before returning to Faith's. He wasn't sure what he'd been expecting when he got here, but it certainly wasn't this. 

“What are we betting,” he questioned as he grabbed another fold out chair, Spike kept next to the fridge. 

"Oh bloody hell. I'm not starting again just so nancy boy over here can get in. I've already got Park Place, and I'm two good rolls away from Boardwalk. Slayer or no, you're not taking that away from me pet." Faith only laughed at his mutterings, as she pulled the top hat out of the pile of unused pieces and placed it on start for Angel. 

Ignoring Spike's outburst, he sat down next to Buffy who had yet to acknowledge his presence. 

“Where’s your girl," she eventually asked once he was settled. 

She was irritated, but at least she was speaking to him, counting the cash Faith was passing him, he didn't even look up as he responded. 

"I was kind of hoping I'd find her here."

Blushing Buffy's eyes immediately returned to the board, as Spike and Faith just stared between the two of them.

Neither daring to utter a word.

When her eyes finally rose to meet his own again, he shot her a quick wink as he rolled the dice. Counting the four spaces he moved the top hat to Chance. Grabbing a card, he nearly chuckled at the irony, before throwing it down to the center of the board, watching as Spikes eyes nearly bulged out of his head. 

_ 'Go directly to boardwalk, if you pass go collect $200.'  _

Spike stood, kicking his chair back as he did, and spat, "Bleeding wanker you are Angelus, always showing up where you're not invited, and screwing everything up for the rest of us,". 

Buffy's hand latched onto Angel's arm, silently begging him to let Spikes outburst go. Unable to deny her, he rolled his eyes, ignoring him as he paid Faith for the property. 

Some time later, Spike had eventually won the game, though Buffy was almost positive that Angel had let him. Despite the rocky start, their evening had actually turned out to be pretty fun, and on the bright side no one had killed each other. That was always a plus in her book, especially where these three were concerned. 

Excusing herself to the bathroom, she quickly emptied her bladder. While she was washing her hands, she found herself wishing Spike had a mirror. Hopefully her hair wasn't too crazy. 

Making her way back to the table, she noticed that Faith and Spike had moved outside to the patio. She thought briefly about joining them when strong arms encircled her waist pulling her down to sit across his lap. Her hands instantly found his, her fingers gently tapping along the outside of his knuckles, "So did you get everything taken care of today," she asked without meeting his gaze. 

Gripping her waist with his free hand, he pulled her closer to him, ensuring that she could feel the reaction his body had to her. “Come home with me,” Angel whispered softly into her ear. 

Biting back a moan, she nearly groaned. “I don’t know Angel, it seems anything plus you equals a  _ very _ needy Buffy."

Reaching up to smooth a stray hair behind her ear, he wasn't above begging.“Let me worry about that tonight, we can talk about everything else tomorrow." 

Buffy wrapped her hands around his neck, gently playing with the hair at his nape. "Angel, I love you," she stressed, touching the tip of her nose to his. "But I can't do the one night stand thing, not with you." 

He softly pressed his lips to hers, how could she ever think that she was going to be a one night stand. Leaning back just enough so that he could focus on her, his voice husky, and full of need, he repeated her very own words to her. "How's forever, does that work for you?" 

Buffy eyed him warily, "Forever," she recited back to him. 

Kissing her again, this time he didn't hold back. His mouth demanded entry, tasting, exploring, not relenting until she was breathless. Somehow his hands had traveled from around her waist, to tangle in her hair, holding her head to his, he attempted to maintain control. 

"I know we have a lot to figure out, and there are some things I need to tell you, most of which you're probably not going to like…" he paused unsure of how to find the words to explain exactly how he felt. "I want you Buffy, and I don't mean for the night, or for the week. I mean I want there to be an us again, I want to try and get that back." 

Her eyes were full of unshed tears, more than making love, more than the daylight fantasies, more than all the times she'd dreamed him human, hearing those words again… That was her dream come true, her ultimate fantasy. "It's not going to be easy Angel," she murmured against his cheek.

Slowly nodding , he gently wiped a tear from her eye. "Has it ever been?"

For the first time that night, she relinquished control, melting into his embrace. Her lips sought his, battling, nipping, sucking… Forget oxygen, she didn't need to breath, she needed him. It was Angel who finally pulled away, knowing that if he didn't right then, then he would lose all ability.

Buffy continued her torment, leaving a trail of scorching kisses down his neck, across his jugular, taking his ear lobe between her teeth she gently bit down. He wasn't sure if he had ever experienced a sweeter torment. He needed her now.

Every fiber of his being, soul, monster, and man, was screaming at him to take her. When she nuzzled his ear and whispered, "I want to feel you inside me," he nearly lost it. 

Standing them up, they didn't even bother saying goodbye. As they made their way out the door, and towards his car, his hands never left her. Stopping every few steps to pin her against the wall, he had no idea how he was supposed to make it to his car. 

Much less survive the twenty minutes back to his place. 


	8. Chapter Eight

The car ride back to Wolfram & Hart had been torturous, Buffy had spent the entire time tormenting him in the sweetest possible way. She spent the whole drive bent over the center console, her lips leaving a blazing trail to every inch of skin she could reach. His cock was angry and throbbing as she massaged him through the material of his slacks. When she inched his zipper down and slipped her hand inside he nearly swerved off the road, missing the median by mere inches. 

"Don't wreck," her sultry voice whispered into his ear. Before his brain could register what was happening she had lowered her head to his lap, her tongue darting out to taste the bead of moisture that had formed on the slit of his swollen purple head. 

"Buffy," he groaned out through clenched teeth, one of his hands leaving their perch on the steering wheel to tangle in her hair. He didn't have a reason to breathe, but air was coming from his dead lungs in pants. She worked him slowly, her mouth teasingly taking just his head into her warm mouth, before releasing him again. When she suddenly took his length to the back of her throat, his hips automatically thrusted deeper. 

Using her hair, he pulled her up, forcibly removing her from his lap. His cock twitched in protest, "Baby please," he breathed out, desperately pleading with her. She had no idea how close he was to pulling the car and fucking her on the side of the road. Stepping down on the accelerator, he once again increased the speed, as she returned to softly stroking him with her hand. 

The smell of her arousal filled his nostrils, spurring his own desire. His fingers itched to touch her, nothing but images of her in the throes of ecstasy filled his mind, as he finally pulled into the parking garage of Wolfram & Hart. Reciting a silent prayer, to whatever powers were listening, he hit the brakes with such force, he was certain he'd left a trail of tire marks in their wake as he swerved into the first available parking spot. 

Immediately he grabbed her, pulling her fully across the console and into his lap. His movements no longer soft or gentle, he crushed his lips to her, purposely nicking her, he lapped the wound, needing to be reminded of the delicacy, the taste of what flowed through her veins. His hard shaft, still jutting between them, throbbed once more, craving her silky depths. Grabbing her hips, he thrust up against her hot denim covered center, never wishing more that she had chosen a dress. 

Slinging the door open, he gripped her thighs, holding tight as he stepped out without ever letting her go. Kicking the door shut with his foot, he leaned her back against the hood of the car, as her legs encircled his waist, she quickly began working the buttons down his shirt. 

He was dizzy, drunk off the taste of her skin. He'd spent so long trying to repress his memory of her that it had dulled over time, sure this morning was a wonderful reminder, but this. This was no holds barred perfection, he could feel the dampness beginning to seep through her jeans, whispering to him, telling him to take back what was his, to remind her who her bodies mate really was. 

She had never felt this way, not even when they were together before. Her body felt like it was being consumed from the inside out, her movements driven by instinct, her soul screaming for its mate. Once she had finally finished with his buttons, he helped her shrug it down his arms, not caring that it fell to the ground of the parking garage. Her fingers instantly raked down the expanse of his chest, down his abdomen, gripping the velvety length of him, she watched as his head fell back as she stroked him, loving the feel of him in her hands. 

His eyes were closed, as he attempted to grasp the frayed edges of his control.  _ "I will not fuck her on top of the car, I will not fuck her on top of the car,"  _ he kept repeating to himself. When he felt her hands attempting to unbuckle his belt, he pulled her back up to him, his hands on her ass, holding her firmly against him, he blindly made his way to his private elevator. 

Once inside, he released her legs, signaling for her to stand. Backing her into the corner, he fingered the hem of her shirt before pulling it over head. He would never tire of her beauty, in that instant he wondered how he ever believed that he would be able to spend eternity without her. His hands trailed up her now bare sides, leaving a trail of goosebumps in their wake. Using one of his palms to cup her breast, he softly pinched her nipple through the satin fabric of her bra, eliciting a soft moan to fall from her lips. 

"Angel," she moaned into his mouth, as he worked off her bra. Her own hands fumbling to undo his belt, the need to feel him inside her unbearable. Just as she felt his belt giveaway, he abandoned her mouth once more, to latch onto his faded mark. Gently bearing down with his blunt teeth, a surge of insurmountable pleasure shot through her body straight to her core. Hooking her thumbs hooked into the waistband of his slacks, she pushed them over his hips just as the bell on the elevator sounded, the doors opening to reveal his apartment. 

Stepping out of his slacks, he shoved them out of his way. His arms surrounded her, backing her into his living space, his hands snaked around to unfasten her jeans, wasting no more time ridding her of the offensive material. Gently pushing her back to lean against the wall, he kissed a trail down the length of her body until he sat crouched on his knees, level with her sex. 

His hands went from squeezing her ass, to the round curve of her hips, he used one hand to slip her panties down her thighs, as the other went to her dripping center, tracing her wet slit, he immediately pushed one finger inside of her scorching depths. Instantly, the sound of her chanting, begging, pleading, filled the air. Trailing his fingers back up her calf, passed the back of her knee, he urged her to lift her leg, resting it on his shoulder. 

Her entire body tingled, she wanted time to speed up or slow down, she wasn't sure. But she knew she wanted this moment, this night, with him to last forever. Grinding against his finger, she tried say that she needed more, that she needed him filling her, completing her. But when he moved her leg over his shoulder, her breath caught in her throat. This was one act they had become very accustomed too in their days together, both before and after he lost his soul. Biting her bottom lip between her teeth, her entire body tensed in anticipation as his tongue slipped out to taste her folds.

He inserted a second finger into her slick channel, just as his mouth found her swollen clit. His tongue circling, tasting, not quite giving her what she needed. He could feel the leg she was using to stand begin to tremble as he continued his blissful torment. Removing his fingers from her depths, she moaned at the loss of contact, just as he slipped her other leg over his shoulder, supporting her full weight. 

Her hands gripped at his hair in an effort to steady herself, "Relax, I've got you," she barely heard him whisper against her sex. Wrapping his arms around her thighs, he placed his palms across her lower abdomen, securing her in place. 

The demon in him was screaming at him to take her, to sink his fangs in the artery pulsing in the crest of her thigh. The man craved her heat, the warmth he knew her body would provide. Lapping greedily at the moisture that seeped from her, he finally relented suckling her pulsing clit. 

Alternating between working the sensitive nub with his teeth, tongue, and lips he quickly worked her to the edge, her orgasm cascaded through her with a fierceness she had never felt before. Every muscle in her body contracted, before the stars behind her eyes exploded, causing an uncontrollable shiver to course throughout her entire body. She tried to apologize for the grip she held on his head, but the lack of oxygen was making speaking impossible at the moment. 

No longer able to wait another second, he fell back to the carpeted floor, making sure to take her with him. Carefully he adjusted them so she was sitting across his stomach, lifting his hips he worked quickly to rid himself of his boxers. 

She could feel the tip of his erection twitching behind her, tapping against the skin of her backside. They were frantic, having been starved of each other for so long, but in that moment, when their eyes met, it was as though time froze, for just a moment. 

Angel slowly lifted his hand to her face, tucking the loose strands of hair behind her ear, he couldn't help but admire the pure beauty that she encompassed. "I love you, I never stopped," he told her voice husky and deep. 

Leaning forward, she softly touched her lips to his as she whispered her own words of love and devotion. Raising her hips, she moved over his aching shaft, softly rubbing him between her slick folds.

Angel's eyes rolled to the back of his head, moving his hands to guide her hips, he waited until she was positioned over him, his engorged cock throbbing at her entrance. "Look at me," he breathed out, his jaw clenched. 

Her eyes met his just as her body began its descent onto his. She could feel herself stretching to accommodate his hard length, wanting to draw this moment out, she took him slowly, only stopping when he was fully seated, pressed hard against her womb. Not wanting to move, she wanted to commemorate this feeling of him, full and inside of her. 

He wasn't sure how he hadn't blown everything and embarrassed himself by coming as soon as his cock began to slip inside her. As it was his hands couldn't seem to be still, they seemed to be all over her, running up her legs, down her thighs, cupping her breasts, before trailing their way back to her hips. He was trying to wait, to give her body time to adjust, but he simply couldn't hold on as he gripped her waist in an effort to move her. 

Using his chest as leverage, she moved her hips at an achingly slow pace. Withdrawing until only his head remained inside her hot depths, then sinking down on him completely once more. She kept that pace for as long as she was able, though eventually her body began moving at its own accord, riding him with an urgency no human could maintain. The sounds of their moans echoing off the walls of his quiet apartment. 

With one hand gripping her hip, helping to aid her movements, Angel slipped the other to where their bodies were joined. Rolling her clit between his fingers, her pace became frantic as she started to really lose composure grinding down on him, desperately seeking release. When he felt the first tremors begin to run through her body, when he felt her inner walls clenching onto him, he grabbed her, flipping them over. 

Instantly her legs attempted to encircle him, raising to his knees once again, he looped her legs over his arms as he continued to pound into her silky depths. Unable to take his eyes off of her, he tried to engrain every detail into his memory. Her hair splayed out to the side of her, the way her breast perfect and supple bounced each time he embedded himself, the curve of her waist, the way her lips parted just slightly as she repeatedly chanted his name. 

Dropping her legs, he fell forward, using his elbows to support his weight, he took her lips in another brutal kiss. When she broke away panting, he rested his forehead against her own, "I don't know how much longer I can last," he whispered desperately, a breath away from her lips. 

She scraped her hands up his chest, and around his neck, once again tangling her fingers in his hair, she whispered back, "I love you, Always," as she tenderly kissed him again. 

Shifting his weight he snaked a hand between them, again rubbing her clit between his fingers, he fought to hold on until she found release. He could feel the familiar pooling on his groin, the tightening in his balls signaling to him that his was imminent. She was close, he could tell by the desperation in her movements. "I want you to come with me beautiful, I can't hold on," he meant it as a whisper, but it came out as more of a guttural groan. 

It was too much, everything was too much, her entire being was ablaze, and when he spoke into her ear, she came undone. Her vision failed, her body felt as though it was floating in mid air, her lungs had all but collapsed, her entire body shook beneath his as she completely lost all sense of reality. 

Angel felt her body begin to shake once more, finally letting himself go, he pumped into her once, twice, three more times before his own orgasm tore through him, his cold seed shooting deep within her. 

He continued stroking in and out of her as they rode out the final waves of bliss together. Angel placed small kisses all over face as he waited for her to return to him. Her brow, the tip of her nose, the side of her cheek, the corner of her mouth, he was still in awe that this was real. That he was inside her, that they had just made love, that she was his again. 

When her breathing had steadied enough that she thought she could form words, she slowly opened her eyes to find Angel's soul filled ones already staring at her. "That was… Mmmm… Wow. That was wow."

Still hovering over her, he couldn't help but smile at her inability to speak. Purposely choosing not to answer her, he simply sucked her bottom lip between his own. Kissing her until she was breaking away gasping for air, mumbling how much she loved him.

He made love to her once more on the carpet of his living room before they found the strength to pull away from each other long enough to stand. Even then they didn't far, as Buffy pushed him down to couch as she mounted him once more, using the back of the couch as leverage she took control, bringing both of them to a quick release. 

Eventually he gave up all hope of them making it to the bedroom separately. Taking matters into his own hands he simply stood up while he was still inside her, and carried her to his bed. 

To  _ their _ bed. 

Light was slowly beginning to creep over the horizon by the time they lay spent in each others arms. Her head pillowed against his chest, their legs entwined, for the first time in forever they each fell asleep with a dream of tomorrow. 

OoOoO

The Oracle’s watched the coupling of the Warriors from a distance. This was a reunion they had long been expecting, though the male Oracle did not agree with what was to be done.

“We should not interfere, this is beyond their understanding.” He urged the female to rethink her decision, meddling in the lives of these beings was beneath them. 

“ We haven't a choice brother, you know as well as I that it is already done. It has been avoided long enough.” 


	9. Chapter Nine

Knowing that he should let her sleep, he wasn't sure how long he laid there, lost in her beauty. In roughly 72 hours, she had managed to embed herself so deeply back into his heart, he could no longer imagine his life without her. It was as though the last five years had faded from existence, his patience wearing thin, he began peppering small kisses from her shoulder, up the delicate slope of her neck, taking a second to nip at his mark, he continued his torment until he was sure she had awoken.

Buffy woke to find herself wrapped in Angel’s strong arms, her back held tightly to his chest, his very obvious arousal taunting her. Smiling to herself, she sighed as memories of the previous night slowly came back to her. She had lost count how many times they had made love, but she knew the sun had risen before either of them had finally succumb to sleep. Her body ached in all of the best ways, but still she craved more.

She was his greatest temptation, his ultimate desire. Shifting their bodies, he aligned himself with her entrance, using a single thrust he fully sheathed himself within her warmth. 

"Good morning, beautiful," he breathed softly against her ear. Her only response was to find his fingers, lacing them with her own.

In contrast to the previous night they took their time, relishing every movement, every touch, slowly building to the highest precipice. They each came with the whisper of the others name on their lips. 

Afterward they laid comfortably in silence, their bodies still connected, each basking in the experiences they were now allowed. 

“I don’t want this to end,” Buffy whispered over her shoulder, tightening her grip on Angel's hand.

“Shhh, it doesn’t have too,” he promised, squeezing her tightly. 

“Promise we can make this work.” Buffy demanded though a voice thick with unshed tears.

“We will,” he swore to her, "There's still a lot we need to discuss, even more we have to figure out. Especially with you being in Ohio, while I'm stuck out here, but we'll handle it," he nibbled at her ear, "Together,". 

“Well isn’t this sweet.” 

Buffy shrieked while Angel yanked the covers so that their bodies were concealed. 

Angel looked over to the un-welcomed guest and growled, “Damnt Eve, I told you to stay out.”.

Eve simply grinned, her hands clasped behind her back, she made no effort to hide the fact that she was scrutinizing the blonde in his bed. “The seniors partners aren’t happy that you missed the meeting this morning.” 

Angel raked a hand through his hair, looking over Buffy's shoulder he glanced at the clock, it was after noon. Apparently they had gotten more sleep than he thought. 

“Get out Eve.”

Eve smiled, nodding her head towards Buffy, “Aren’t you going to introduce me to your new.. friend," she asked with a forced enthusiasm.

Buffy looked from Angel and back to Eve, using her elbow to prop herself up, she eyed the intruder suspiciously. 

“Always so rude, and terrible with introductions. I’m Eve," she took a couple steps closer, sticking her hand out as though she actually expected Buffy to shake it. 

Confused Buffy wasn’t sure what was going on. This girl had appeared out of no where, but looked too corporeal to be a ghost. 

“Buffy, just ignore her,” Angel instructed, clearly irritated.

“Buffy? As in _the_ _Slayer_? Well this is an interesting twist.” The wheels in Eve’s head began to spin, the senior partners would not be happy about this. 

From behind her Buffy could hear a low growl coming from Angel, “OUT,” he nearly roared.

Throwing her hands up in surrender, Eve turned around to leave, but before she reached the door she looked back over her shoulder once more. 

“Make sure you hum, he really seemed to enjoy that.”

Reaching around Buffy, he grasped the first object his hand came into contact with. Hurling it just as Eve disappeared through the door, he watched his alarm clock shatter into pieces. He really couldn't stand that bitch. 

“Is there anyone here you haven’t had sex with?” 

Angel groaned, this was not a conversation he wanted to have. Especially not while he was still inside of her. “I didn’t mean too," he whined into her shoulder.

Buffy’s head tilted to the side, “And how did you not mean too exactly? I mean did you trip and fall...naked?”. Angel shifted, tightening his hold on her, pulling her closer against him. 

Nuzzling her ear he whispered, “It was a spell gone wrong, she’s my liaison to the Senior Partners. Trust me, I would never willingly sleep with that woman." 

His attempt to distract her was working, Buffy could feel him hardening within her. She began to slightly rotate her hips in the most tantalizing manner, “What's this meeting she was talking about," she questioned, her breath becoming slightly ragged.

Angel couldn’t focus, his body had begun meeting her small thrusts, creating a rhythm he yearned to increase. “The Mayor of Los Angeles, he-umm-he had wanted to go over last months Vampire attacks within the city limits. I’ll have Harmony reschedule.” 

Briefly Buffy wondered if all of California’s political system was aware of the Demon population. Rocking her hips, she ground down on his hard shaft, which granted her a moan from Angel. 

“Does she hum too," she mockingly asked as she rolled forward, causing his hard length to slip from her depths. 

Reacting too slow to stop her, he settled for grabbing her around the waist, holding her to him so that she couldn't fully escape his bed. 

“You can’t be serious Buffy, I told you it was a spell," reaching out he softly traced the curvature of her spine with the back of his fingers.

Buffy knew she was being ridiculous, she wasn’t actually mad at him, but she would never be okay with his one night stand randomly showing up at the foot of the bed. She would never be okay with his one night stand showing up anywhere. “Does she always just show up like that? In your bedroom?"

Angel loosened his grip on her, rolling to his back, he bent his arm under the back of his neck, the last thing he wanted to do was fight with Buffy. Especially after the night they just had together. 

"She has a bad habit of showing up everywhere," he sighed. 

Disliking the loss of contact between them, she spun around, cuddling back into his side, she rested her head back against his chest. "Isn't there something you can do, I mean, aren't you supposed to be the boss around here, and who are these senior partners anyway," she asked as her fingers once again began to trace invisible patterns across his chest. 

Angel pinched the bridge of his nose, in an attempt to gather his thoughts. "They're the people-errr things that I answer too. I've never met them, in all honesty I'm not even sure they exist on this plane. To reach them you have to go through channels. Unfortunately Eve is one of them." 

Buffy had become distracted tracing the dips and valleys between the muscles across his chest, and down his abdomen."So they're the bad guys," she stated, more than questioned. 

When he didn't answer she propped herself up on to get a better look at him. "Honesty remember, you promised we would be in this together this time." 

Gently turning his head towards her own, she lightly brushed her nose against his as she spoke. "This place Angel, it's no good. I know you know that, trust me I get what you're trying to do, but this. It's too much, you know better than anyone that sometimes you just have to walk away." 

Not able to stand her nearness, he threaded his fingers through her hair, pulling her into him, he desperately tried to kiss away all of her fears. "I know I'm in deep Buffy, but I'm on the verge of something big, something huge. If I'm able to pull it off, I might just be able to walk away and take some of the top players out with me." 

Urging her to roll on top him, her thighs immediately spread as she straddled him, teasingly nudging her entrance against him. 

"So this plan, I'm guessing it's not one you're going to share?" 

Angel pulled her down to softly press his lips to hers, "Not yet, I still have some things to figure out, but I promise as soon as things are settled you will be the first to know," eyeing him skeptically she still wasn't convinced. It didn't matter how long they had been apart, she  _ knew _ him. 

“I need you," he whispered into the slope of her neck, his fingers slowly making their way down to her hips. 

Buffy almost gave in right then, how was she supposed to resist this, he was basically begging her, slowly she began to let the sheet slide down her body until her breast spilled out.

Leaning over to him, she whispered right above his lips. “Do you know what I need? A shower.” 

Buffy turned giggling, making her way to the shower, she had nearly made it through the door when she was grabbed from behind and pushed against the wall. 

Angel’s lips descended on hers, kissing her with enough force to leave bruises had she not been a slayer. Pinning both of her hands above their heads, he finally released her mouth continuing his assault down her neck. 

Her plan was backfiring, she wasn’t planning to give in so easily. “Shower," she mumbled as he sucked on the skin of her throat. Angel smiled against her, knowing how close she was to giving him, she wanted him just as badly as he needed her, he could smell it. 

Suddenly he was pushed back. Damn slayer strength, he had almost forgotten how powerful she could be. 

“You can join me if you want, but _ "NO TOUCHING," _ she taunted, even as her own fingers trailed down his chest, stopping just before they reached the tip of his aching manhood. 

Side stepping him, she let the sheet fall to the ground, as she walked to the shower and stepped inside. Adjusting the temperature she stepped under the water, making sure she was in his full view. 

Beginning to understand her game, he'd definitely play but he'd be damned if he let her win. 

Watching as she stepped under the spray of the water, he waited for her to turn back around, before stepping in behind her. Grabbing the loofah from her hands, he gently began massaging her, working his ivory soap down her body. 

She could feel his swollen cock rub against her backside as he continued to soap her body. Abandoning the loofah, his hands traveled around her ribs to grasp her perfectly rounded breasts, taking a moment he tweaked her nipples until each of them were peaked. 

Struggling to keep herself from leaning back into him, she could only take so much. Unable to contain herself she arched into his palms, silently begging for more. 

She was breaking, he knew it wouldn’t be long before she gave in and stopped this silly charade. Slowly stepping forward, he turned her so that they were face to face. Stepping under the shower, he let the water cascade down both of them as he pulled her close. 

“No more bedroom visits, I’ll make it clear.” 

Biting her lower lip, Buffy tried to stop herself from smiling. Reaching down, she laced her fingers around him, stroking gently. 

“Any other happiness testers I should know about?” 

Angel grinned, grabbing her by the ass he lifted her, urging her to wrap her legs around him. “I already told you, you’re the only person who's made me happy in over two hundred years.” 

She gasped as her back came into contact with the cool tile wall of the shower. His fingers were digging into the flesh of her hips, his cock teasing her entrance, silently he was begging for permission. 

“I love you," he whispered, his lips teasing, barely grazing her own.

Hearing those three words would always be her undoing. She would never love anything on this Earth as much as she loved him. Gripping the back of his head, pulling him firmly to her lips, she silently granted him permission. “I love you," she told him as he waisted no more time, filling her in one swift motion.

OoOoO

Faith had thankfully taken the time to bring her things up, leaving the bag outside his door. He had grabbed them after they left the shower. “When is your flight," he questioned once they were back in his room attempting to dress. 

Despite the number of times they had made love, her fingers were still itching to touch him. Stepping forward, she reached out and took over the task of buttoning his shirt. The more clothes they had on, the better their chances of making it out of his bedroom. 

“Tomorrow." 

The thought of leaving had her oddly emotional, as hard as she tried she couldn't stop the tears that threatened to spill from her eyes. 

Angel held her to him, tucking her head under his chin, he wrapped his strong arms around her. “Hey, it’s okay. We’re going to make this work, remember?"

Nodding her head against him, Buffy took a deep breath, calming herself. Tilting her head, she looked up, pressing her lips to his. 

Their kiss quickly escalating, Angel found himself slowly backing her towards the bed. When the back of her knees came into contact with the mattress, Buffy broke away gasping. 

“You have to go to work.” Though, even as she spoke the words, her hands lowered, stroking him through his slacks.

Angel groaned, Kissing her one last time, he turned away unable to face her. 

“Take one of the cars in the garage if you want to get out of here for a while, come by my office before you leave though. It should be a light day, barring any unforeseen apocalypse."

Buffy smiled , wrapping her arms around him from behind. “Mmm, I'll probably just stick around here. My slayer senses are tingling, besides I want to snoop."

Quickly spinning around to face her once more, his features took on a serious note, "Buffy, I don't think that's a good idea." He knew better than anyone what dangers lurked between these walls. 

"I know, which is exactly why I plan on doing it." 

Knowing how pointless it would be to argue with her, he tucked a stray strand of hair behind her ear. "Please be careful, not many people here can be trusted." 

Nodding her head, Buffy leaned up, placing a quick kiss to his jaw. "So I've heard," confused he glanced down to meet her eyes. "Willow, told me about that scientist dude. The one that tried to turn your  _ friend _ into some ancient demon thing." 

Noticing the emphasis she put on the word friend, he couldn't stop the sly smile that spread across his face. "Exactly, and her names Fred, her and Wesley are involved."

"Oh… Wesley has a girlfriend?"

Angel chuckled as he released his hold on her, walking over to grab his belt, he met her eyes, "Wes has changed a lot since Sunnydale," he said shrugging his shoulders.

"Mmm, so when do I get to meet this gang of yours anyway?" 

Angel knew he should introduce her to everyone, but there were still some things he hadn't had a chance to speak to her about. Mainly what happened between him and Darla, and about Connor. He knew the odds were stacked against them, in order to give their relationship the best shot, he was going to have to be honest. 

Well...as honest as he was able.

OoOoO

A few hours had passed since Angel had reluctantly parted ways with Buffy, sulking down to his office. He had reluctantly told the story of Darla, and how Connor came to be. He explained that the entire reason he had even agreed to take this position was to protect him, and so that they would hand over the amulet she needed to defeat the First. 

Despite her best efforts she had broken down at one point and asked him why he hadn't come to her. He hadn't known how to answer her, except to say that he loved his son, and had he been given the choice, she would have been Connors mother.

Which was apparently the wrong thing to say.

She had forcibly shoved him back from her, telling him that he very well could of been theirs, had he not gone off and fucked his sire. He knew she was hurt, when she was with Riley he had plenty of nightmares where she showed up carrying his child. He didn't even want to imagine that becoming a reality now. 

In an effort to calm her, he had reminded her that she was with Riley at the time. He couldn't have very well shown up to Sunnydale in the middle of the night, desperate to lose his soul in her,  _ that would have gone over so well. _

She had eventually allowed him to take her back in his arms for a moment before telling him that she loved him, but she needed a bit of time to process everything. Knowing he didn't have a choice, he loosened his hold, letting her go.

Though as she turned to walk out the door he asked her something that he had once asked long ago.

"You still my girl?" 

Just like the time years before, she paused as she reached his doorway. Her voice was scratchy and thick from unshed tears, yet she managed to whisper just loud enough for him to hear.

"Always."

OoOoO

Angel sat in his office speaking with Hamilton, another liaison to the Senior Partners. He had to be careful, especially with Buffy and Faith here. He needed to make sure he stayed under his radar, in order to infiltrate the Black Thorne. 

“…And the Slayers, what are your plans with them?” 

Hamilton sat across from Angel, staring intently, he watched closely for any sign of deception in the vampire. 

“Not an issue, they suspect nothing. Besides they're scheduled to fly out tomorrow.” 

Wesley suddenly appeared in the doorway, Angels attention turned to him, silently questioning his presence. 

“What's up Wes? We’re kind of in the middle of something.”

“Actually, I needed to speak to you for a moment… alone.” Hamilton was not to be trusted as far as Wesley was concerned. 

“It can wait.” Angel instructed rather forcefully. 

Taken back, it wasn’t like Angel to dismiss him so easily. He hadn’t been himself recently, and it was beginning to disturb him. “Yes. Of course, my apologies.” 


	10. Chapter Ten

She couldn't believe he had a son… A child that wasn't hers. Fate sure had one hell of a sense of humor, hadn't children been one of his big selling points when he left her. It seemed like he had attained more of that normal life, than she ever would, sunshine and all. 

She loved him, she would always love him. Was love really enough though? When she thought about how much time had passed, what all she'd gone through, what all he'd gone through... she found herself wondering if it was just too much. 

Could they really put all the pieces of them back together, or were they just signing up for heartbreak all over again. Her mind kept circling back around to his son, the thought of Angel as a Dad made her heart ache. She knew how miraculous his son's existence was, and she could only imagine what he meant to him. 

Still the thought left her with a sense of bitterness, it wasn't fair. 

She was the slayer, which used to mean that she had a fairly early expiration date. She had trained herself from a very young age not to get lost in the future. But when it came to Angel, those thoughts, they were always there, in the back of her mind haunting her. They were the reason Riley left, and honestly he'd been right to do so. She had loved Riley, but she was never in love with him. At least not that soul crunching, heart wrenching, mind numbing love that she was used too, that rightfully expected. 

She just couldn't give him her heart, when it had long since belonged to someone else.

On the nights when she lay awake unable to sleep, the times when her soul ached to hear the sound of his voice, she would close her eyes and get lost in an impossible future, a lucid dream. Knowing it was a form of self torture, at her weakest moments she didn't care. He was, is, and would forever be the love of her life, but that also meant that he had the ability to break her in a way no other being ever could. 

It had only been a matter of hours, and the thought of leaving him already made her feel like hyperventilating. But the idea of committing, of diving head first back into their… saga. Had her just as worried, she'd barely survived losing him before. Both when she sent him to hell, and when he left her for L.A., she wasn't sure she could make it through it a third time.

OoOoO

Angel sat mutely staring at the stack of papers on his desk, he hadn't been able to get anything accomplished. Hell he'd barely been able to hold it together through the meeting with Hamilton. He wanted nothing more than to go find Buffy, but he was trying to do as she had asked and give her some space to process everything. 

He knew the news of Connor wouldn't be something that went over well with her. But if they were going to give this whole relationship thing a shot again, then he thought they needed to go into it openly. Obviously he loved his son, and Connor was part of Darla, no matter what he wished that link would always be there, even if Darla wasn't. 

His eyes jumped to his office door just as Faith stepped inside, he could smell Spike all over her, briefly he wondered if what was going on between them was serious. 

"Hey big guy," she quipped biting back a smile, as she took a seat across from him. "So you and B kind of disappeared on us last night..." she trailed off kicking her legs up onto the corner of his desk, crossing her ankles, she met his stare, cocking an eyebrow in return. 

"Sharing is caring, bossman."

Angel released a breath, allowing his head to fall back against his chair, he closed his eyes for a moment to gather his thoughts. He felt like he'd been on an emotional rollercoaster the last few days, and he still wasn't sure it had come to a complete stop. "It's complicated," he finally muttered staring at the ceiling. 

"Complicated? It looked pretty simple from where I stood. Tell me you didn't give her the whole you deserve more speech again." 

His eyes blinked open to meet hers, why did everyone always say it like that. He had left her because she  _ deserved  _ more, at the time everyone had agreed with him, now all of the sudden it seemed as if those same people used it to condemn him. "No, I didn't," he huffed. 

"I told her about Connor."

Faith's eyes nearly bulged out of her head, "Wow, that's pretty heavy stuff," she said glancing down at her watch, "When you've only been back together for twelve hours," she nearly shouted allowing her voice to rise with each word. "You know for someone who is about to round three hundred, you sure could stand to learn a few things."

There were very few people on this Earth who dared to speak to him in such a manner, Faith was one of them. Wincing, he suddenly felt like maybe he hadn't done the right thing by telling Buffy. 

"So you think I should have kept it from her?"

Rolling her eyes she couldn't believe what a typical male he sounded like right then. "No," she sighed exasperated. 

"No I shouldn't have told her, or No I should have told her," he questioned, confusion overtaking his features. 

Slapping a hand to her forehead, she removed her feet from his desk so that she could sit up, "Look I'm not saying you shouldn't have told her, he's your kid. She was going to figure it out one or another, but twelve hours… Angel, you know B. She's like way territorial over you. Hearing you had a baby with your ex hunny ain't going to be something she just gets over." 

Looking down at the pen he kept clicking, he found himself questi---,"Territorial?".

Faith just rolled her eyes, men. He was giving her some serious doubts about their species right now. "Really," she deadpanned. "That whole speech and all you got was that..." 

Sighing, he heard what she was saying, but like she said one way or another she was bound to find out. He just wanted to make sure she heard it from him, they were flying back to Ohio tomorrow. It's not like he wasn't working on a timeline here. 

Throwing the blasted pen he couldn't seem to stop clicking across his desk, he let out a frustrated breath, "I get it okay, there's just so much…" he trailed off, meeting her eyes once more. "Five years is a long time." 

Faith cautiously looked him over, as she tried to decipher just what his thought process was. "Too long?"

Rubbing a hand through his hair, he wasn't sure how to answer that. "I don't know, that's not for me to decide," he finally admitted out loud. 

"Damn. So you really are all in then."

The corner of Angel's mouth quirked as the events of the previous nights flitted through his mind. "I'm trying to be, but at the end of the day I just want her to be happy, Faith. Be it with me or some other guy out there, she deserves it. She deserves everything," he breathed. 

OoOoO

Buffy had hit the Gym for a couple hours, she had to admit she was impressed with the facility. She had made a few mental notes on things she could suggest to Giles for the potentials training centers.

She wouldn't go as far to say that she felt better about the whole Angel has a kid issue, that was definitely going to take some getting used too. Though the fact that he was grown, and not some bouncing baby boy made the news a little easier to digest. She was still having trouble wrapping her mind around it, Angel as a father… it was always a fantasy she didn't dare dream. Yet, here he was. 

That eighteen year old girl inside of her was screaming that she was wasting time, that they had been allowed the most amazing night, and she was throwing away what precious hours they had left... sulking about something they had no control over. 

Though the woman in her was still deeply hurt, she knew that both of them were going to have to come to terms with the others past. Besides she was still waiting for him to break the news about his relationship with Cordelia, she couldn't wait to hear that explanation. 

Logically she understood what he had been going through, I mean look at what she had been through with Spike. Still, her temporary loss of sanity hadn't resulted in any offspring. Despite everything, it was just something she was going to have to get over. She loved him, which meant that she would love his son, normal people dealt with stuff like this all the time. It certainly wasn't something that would cause her to give up on him, besides her heart ached everytime she thought about the look on his face this morning when she walked out his door.

Returning to his apartment, she let herself in and couldn't help but chuckle at the sight before her. Their clothes were scattered from just inside his door, throughout his living room, and into his bedroom, her panties were hanging from the corner of his coffee table. Gathering everything as she moved throughout the space, she finally located his washing machine behind one of the doors near the kitchen. Sorting the colors, she quickly threw a load of darks on before making her way to his shower.

They had spent enough time apart. 

OoOoO

Taking his private elevator, her eyes widened as she noticed her shirt caught on the corner railing, and what appeared to be his belt kicked off to the side. Quickly chunking the items into his apartment, she desperately tried to quell the blush that had overtaken her. 

As the elevator doors opened she came face to face with what could only be described as the demon version of Elton John. 

“Oh my," Lorne took a step back at the blonde beauty that stood before him. He'd been picking up enough vibes from Angel today to know exactly who she was. 

"Honey your aura is absolutely screaming. I'm beginning to understand Angelcakes internal dilemma, talk about willpower.” 

Buffy was seriously confused, had he just referred to Angel as Angelcakes? Glancing passed the green demon, her eyes found Angel's, her heart breaking at at the sadness she saw behind his chocolate orbs.

“Umm, I’m sorry... Who are you," she questioned wearily. 

She may not have sang, but Lorne was picking up some serious vibes just from the sound of her voice. There was no doubt her destiny was intertwined with Angels, their souls were basically part of the same wavelength. He wasn't wrong often, but he suddenly found himself questioning the notion of kyrumption. If there had been sparks between Angel and Cordy, then there was a fireworks spectacular between these two. 

Immediately Lorne’s heart seized for the girl, she carried so much pain for someone so young. Reaching out, he grabbed onto both of her hands, squeezing them gently. 

“Name’s Lorne sweet cheeks, and something tells me yours is Buffy. Now you will have to forgive me, I must run, I'm afraid I have a meeting with Madonna in five. Perhaps later we can have a chat, people tell me I make a killer Mai Tai.” Kissing her hand, Lorne released her, as he turned to walk out of Angel's office.

Stunned Buffy wasn’t sure what to think about the green demon, shaking it off she returned her attention to the man she'd come down here to see. Only then did she notice the room was full of people. Some she recognized, a few she didn't, but one thing was for sure, she was going to have to change tactics.

Angel stood from his chair, "Bu-..." he began but was interrupted by the caveman across the room.

"Buffy...Angel…Bloody hell can we all be spared from the verbal foreplay," Spike spouted, then quickly winced from the elbow he received to his ribs. 

Faith sat next to Spike on one of the couches, across from some bald guy she had never seen before. Wes and who she assumed to be Fred sat in the chairs opposite Angel's desk, stacks of files in each of their laps. She figured they were probably in some deep discussion about some demon or another, Wes had that whole watcher vibe going on. 

Gunn's eyebrows rose as he took in the sight of the mysterious girl from Angel's past. She wasn't at all what he had expected, especially not considering that she was the most renowned slayer in all of history. She was tiny, even smaller than Faith. He had to admit the thought of the tiny blonde harnessing that much power intrigued him.

"Down boy, unless you have a death wish, I suggest you find something else to focus on mate," Gunn glanced back towards Spike clearing his throat, "I wasn't, I mean… she's just so little," he told the vampire.

Spike leaned back, resting his arm behind Faith as he did so, "Word of advice, don't let her hear you say that. Ever. She's just itching for a reason to take one of you lawyer folks out.".

"Well it's a good thing, I'm not one of those anymore," he spat back refusing to be intimidated.

Buffy and Angel still stood across the room from one another, silently drinking the other in, neither knowing what to say. Angel was as always taken back by her beauty, it still amazed him the way the room seemed to light up as soon as she stepped inside. Eventually he noticed her eyes drift from his own to the unfamiliar faces in the room. 

Grateful for the distraction he quickly introduced Fred, who waved enthusiastically from her seat, telling her that she had heard such great things about her from Willow, and how happy she was to finally meet her. Buffy smiled warmly at the brunette, she could already tell that she was going to like her. Also, she was pretty sure Willow may or may not have had a mild crush on the girl at one point. 

Gunn stood from his seat, ignoring the daggers Angel was shooting him as he approached her. He may no longer have all of the lawyer mumbo jumbo crowding his head, but that didn't mean he didn't remember the basics. Reaching out his hand, he introduced himself as though she was a new client which caused her to suppress a chuckle. He was adorable, incredibly naive, but adorable nonetheless. 

Angel had unconsciously began drifting towards her once he noticed Gunn head her way. Luckily Gunn was smart, and had taken the hint, returning to his seat when he felt Angel standing over his shoulder.

Buffy exchanged quick pleasantries with Wes from her place by the elevator, before returning her focus to Angel, who now stood only a couple feet in front of her. She hadn't exactly expected an audience when she set out to find him, figuring he would be off brooding, alone. This new social Angel was just another thing she was going to have to get used to, but she wasn't sure that was a bad thing. She was glad that he had people in his life who seemed to care for him, that he cared about.

Working her bottom lip between her teeth, she took a step his way closing the distance between them. Ignoring the rest of the occupants in the room, she leaned up pressing her lips to his, desperate to ease some of the doubts she felt rolling off him. 

The second he felt her lips brush against his own, his hands immediately found their way to her hips, his thumbs slipping under her shirt to graze the skin on her sides, as he held her to him. Refusing to let her break away, he slipped his tongue inside her mouth, kissing her for a few moments longer, he had to force himself to break away knowing they had an audience. 

Even still, he held her close to him for a few moments longer, "Hey," he whispered his nose nuzzling hers. Finally feeling as though he could release the breath he felt he'd been holding since he'd watched her walk away this morning.

Stealing one more quick kiss, she got lost in his gaze, "Hey back," she told him softly as he rested his forehead against her own. Knowing his friends were watching their every move, he linked his pinky finger with hers, guiding her over to his desk. Sitting in his chair, he quickly pulled her down onto his lap, there had been so much turmoil today, he just needed to feel her. 

Aside from Spike and Faith the entire room seemed to be enamored with the couple, especially their open displays of affections. This was definitely a side of Angel that they weren't familiar with, although as time wore on, the less awkward things became. 

As he'd expected Buffy fit in seamlessly, by the end of the night Wesley was hammering her for details on all the fiends she had faced since his departure. Gunn was trading battle stories, bouncing between both her and Faith, while Fred sat quietly simply in awe of the couple before her. 

Spike seemed utterly bored with everyone in the room, as he lit yet another cigarette...Well except for Faith, only time would tell what was going on between those two.

It was well after seven by the time the gang ushered out of his office. Of course he had wanted to drag her away from everyone, lock her away in his apartment, make love to her until neither of them had the strength to move. However seeing her in his life, intertwined with his friends, his family, made everything about the last 24 hours seem more real. 

For the first time since she had walked through those doors, he could actually visualize a future, their future, together. 

If only he could make it out this damn place alive, they might really have a shot at this again. 

Taking her hand, he led her back to his elevator. He knew there were things that needed to be discussed, he wanted to hear about her feelings regarding Connor, and Darla. He needed to know that it was something they could move passed. Honestly he wanted to hear her thoughts on everything, but not right now, not tonight. 

Last night he reclaimed her body, tonight he was going to reclaim her soul.


	11. Chapter Eleven

Once they were alone inside the elevator, she turned stepping into his arms."I'm sorry, for earlier. For the way I left, I mean. I just needed a little time to process… well, everything."

Holding her tightly to him, he gently swayed with her in his arms. "Were you able to? Process it," he questioned quietly against the crown of her head. 

Shifting so she could look up at him, she held his stare for a moment before answering. "I think so, I mean I have no choice but to accept it. You're a packaged deal now," she smiled softly touching her lips to his. 

"Buffy, you know if I could---," she shushed him by placing one of her fingers over his lips. "Don't," she spoke her breath hitting his lips. "We both have a lot of stuff we're going to have to accept, five years is a long time. There's no point wishing things were different… we're just going to move forward, we don't have a choice if we want this to work." Speechless, he was taken back for a moment, as he realized just how much she had matured in their time apart. 

The elevator dinged signaling their arrival just before the doors slid open to reveal his apartment. Buffy quickly scooped up their articles of clothing that she had thrown out earlier in the day. Blushing she sat his belt across the back of the sofa as she rushed off into the kitchen to switch out the laundry. 

Angel began to kick off his shoes as he loosened his tie, taking in the sight of her scurrying around his home, he couldn't bite back the lopsided grin that spread across his face. A part of him was still adjusting to the fact that this wasn't some fantasy he'd dreamt up, she was really here, they were really here. Following behind her, his hands slipped around her hips as she moved the clothes from the washer into the dryer. 

Moving her hair to the side, he began placing random open mouth kisses to the side of her neck. Digging his fingers into her hips, he pulled her flush against him, his shaft twitching against her backside. 

Buffy quickly shut the lid to the dryer, pressing the button for the machine to start she spun around in his arms. The entire time they were in his office all she could think about was getting him alone, they had spent the time stealing touches when they thought no one else was paying attention, a kiss here, a caress there. However, now that they were finally here, alone, she couldn't help but feel like they should talk about everything. 

_ Before _ they jumped back into bed. 

Easily lifting her, he sat her down on the counters edge. Stepping between her strong thighs, he finally captured her lips in the way that had been plaguing his thoughts since she stepped into his office. 

Her hands seemed to be everywhere all at once, gripping at the hairs on the nape of his neck, trailing down the expanse of his arms, making their way back up his chest, using his tie to pull him closer to her. "Mmm, we should stop," she mumbled, breaking away from his lips for a second. 

His fingers glided under the hem of her shirt, dancing across her warm flesh, he could almost feel the buzz of electricity the two of them created. "Maybe I don't want to stop," he told her just before he sucked his faded mark between blunt teeth. Leaning her head to give him better access, she raked her fingers down his clothed chest, stopping to rest them right where his shirt disappeared under his dark slacks. 

"We need to talk," she nearly moaned, her fingers trailing over his hardening member. 

"Talk," he repeated, not understanding as his hands worked their way further under her shirt. Couldn't they talk later? He'd been forced to watch her gallivanting around his office all evening, laughing with Gunn, reminiscing with Spike… it was far too soon to share her. Yet due to his circumstances, attached to this place, he had no choice, the show must go on. 

Buffy going against her own words began nipping and sucking her way up the smooth expanse of his own neck. Sucking his ear lobe between her teeth, she gently bit it, eliciting a soft moan from his lips. "Are you going to tell me what's going on here?" she whispered in his ear, her face pressed alongside his. 

Groaning Angel pressed his forehead to hers, slowly blinking his eyes open, his hands slid around her waist to the curve of her ass, yanking her tightly against him, he could feel the heat seeping from her center through his trousers. 

"I told you, I've got it under control. Nothing to tell."

Buffy stilled, eyeing him suspiciously. "Then why did Wes seem so sketched out earlier?"

Blowing out a long breath, he dropped his head back to stare at the textured ceiling. His hands unable to keep still, continued blazing a trail up and down her thighs, back to her waist, his cock throbbed angrily between them. "Wes and I have some issues, but they don't have anything to do with Wolfram & Hart. Some things happened, we're still in the process of sorting it all out." 

He hated lying to her, but at this point it seemed like his entire existence was a lie. He was lying to his friends, his office, hell sometimes he even wondered if he were lying to himself. 

Nuzzling her ear, he allowed his hands to roam over her body once more, as he whispered one of his dearest truths. 

“I love you." 

Buffy could tell he was keeping something from her, he wasn’t nearly as good of a liar as he thought he was. Though he was doing an excellent job at distracting her from that fact. 

“I’ve imagined being inside of you all day," he told her huskily, attempting to convey his absolute need for her. 

Buffy could feel him, pressed between them, twitching against her aching center. He was making it very difficult to think. 

“We're supposed to be talking, remember?” 

Angel sighed heavily, he really didn’t want to waste his last few hours with her talking. Pressing his forehead to hers, he stared at her with such intensity Buffy almost looked away. 

“Cèile, let me make love to you," he begged, his lips brushing against hers as he spoke. 

He wasn’t playing fair, he knew what it did to her when he started whispering things in Gaelic. She wasn’t even sure what most of it meant, but she loved it none the less. 

Snaking her tiny hands around his neck, she pulled his mouth down to meet hers once again. His kiss was slow, taking his time, he explored every crevice of her decadent mouth. Gently teasing her, he used his tongue to draw her own out, ensuing a battle of dominance. 

Gone was the rush of yesterday, the frantic need to be one with her. Tonight he planned to show her just how much she meant to him, how much he loved her, tonight he was going to let her in knowing he may never get the chance again.

Angels hand slid down her hips kneading her flesh as they went. When he reached the hem of the top of her leggings, he helped her to work them down her thighs. 

Teasingly Angels hands stroked up her inner thighs, almost touching, but never quite reaching the place she craved him most. Kissing her lips one last time, he broke away as he slid down to his knees. 

Nestled between her legs, he spread her thighs inhaling, her scent was positively intoxicating. Beginning at her knee, he left a trail of wet hot kisses all the way up to the crevice of her thigh. Placing a single kiss on top of her silky black thong, he inched his way back down and up the opposite thigh. 

Shaking in anticipation, her hands raked through his silky brown locks, she wanted nothing more than to pull him right where she needed him. Allowing her sandals to slide off her feet, she moved her hands to the counter behind her. Resting her weight on her elbows, she couldn’t stop her hips from rising off its surface, her body instinctively seeking relief.

Hooking his thumbs in her panties, he slipped them off of her, discarding them on the kitchen floor. His mouth watered as he took in the sight of her dripping sex, watching as one of his fingers disappeared inside of her wet folds, he worked her until she was meeting his thrust, the slightest moan falling from her lips, begging him for more. 

His lips felt like they were everywhere, except where she wanted him most. His hands traveled under her shirt, pushing the material out of his way, he left a trail of kisses over her abdomen. 

“ _ Please _ ,” she begged as he continued to work her with his hand. 

Knowing what she craved, he scooted her to the counters edge as he began to trace her outer folds with his tongue. His teasing persisted until every muscle in her body was wound tight, her knuckles white from their grip on the surfaces edge. 

“Angel, I need. Please. Oh God. I can't. Angel, I love you.” She couldn't breathe, couldn't see, at this very second she wouldn't care who burst through that door, as long as he put an end to this torment. 

Once again, her babbling nearly did him in. Unable to deny her a moment longer, he gently ran his tongue back and forth over her clit. Her head fell back as her elbows gave out, her entire body shuddered in anticipation as he lightly took her swollen bundle of nerves between his teeth. 

She came without a sound, her whole body shook as her orgasm overtook her. She wasn’t even sure she was breathing, warmth flooded her body, as her thighs latched onto his head. Even as she began to float back to reality, tiny tremors continued to course their way through her. 

When it all became too much, Buffy struggled to sit up as she attempted to pull Angels head from between her over worked sex. With a growl he rose from his knees in full game face. Without hesitation Buffy grabbed him, crushing her lips to his.

Softly she ran her tongue over each of his fangs, which caused a gentle pur to form deep in Angel's chest, a sound she had always loved. Her hands found his belt once more, as she began to work the buckle, Angel yanked at her top, shredding it off of her.

His cock pulsed, any moment now he was sure the zipper would burst. Breaking the kiss, he turned his head in an effort to calm himself, he hadn’t meant to let the demon slip. 

“Angel, stop," she chastised him. She hated how ashamed he was of the demon inside of him, with blunt teeth she bit down on his neck, in an attempt to coax his lips back to hers. Angel couldn’t take it anymore, crushing his lips to hers once again, he could taste the metallic essence of his mate flood his senses.

Finally ridding him of his belt, she quickly unbuttoned his pants, pushing them down, she waited as he kicked them off to the side, along with his underwear. His cock sprang free, moisture already accumulating on his engorged head. Taking him in her hands, Buffy used both of her hands to stroke him firmly. Her thumb taking extra care, circling his swollen tip. 

"Slow down, beautiful.” She was running a real risk of this being over before it ever really began. 

Leaning forward, she slowly slid off the counter. He had only ever let her do this a handful of times, claiming it was too much for him to bare. Buffy sunk down until her mouth was level with him, slowly guiding him to her lips, she used her tongue to circle his head. 

Angel groaned, using one hand he gripped the back of her head, while the other held onto the counter behind her, steadying himself. It took all of his control to let her lead this experience. 

Unexpectedly, Buffy took all of him in her mouth and down her throat. Fighting the urge to gag, she held still until her need for air became overpowering. Slowly she released him one centimeter at a time, loving her ability to turn this stoic man into such a raw exposed mess. 

Angel couldn’t take it, he needed to be inside her, not able to wait a second longer, he gripped her firmly by the arms, pulling her back up to him, pressing his lips to hers as he sat her back on the counter top. Positioning himself at her entrance, he paused for a moment before entering her in an attempt to regain some control of his senses.

Raising her legs, she tried her best to lock them around him, only to feel the uncomfortable fabric of his shirt between them. Gripping his tie, she swiftly loosened the knot, stripping it from his neck, her fingers quickly began working on his shirt. Losing patience with her lack of progress, she grasped the offending garment, forcefully removing it, as buttons flew all around them. 

Angel couldn't help but chuckle at her frustration, shucking what remained of his shirt down his shoulders, he quickly returned to positioning himself at her entrance. Guiding his aching cock along her wet slit, he made sure to run his swollen tip across her most sensitive place a few times, loving the way her body jerked in response. 

Her arms resting on his shoulders, she shuddered at the cool feeling of him surrounding her. How she had survived so long without this, she had no idea. Nuzzling her nose along his, she let out a long sigh of relief as she felt him finally begin to enter her.

Testing his limits, Angel filled her at an achingly slow pace, slipping into her depths inch by glorious inch, only to pull back out, before starting the process all over. By the time he was fully seated inside of her, he had to pause, giving them both a minute to adjust. 

He felt as though he was being consumed by her warmth, his entire being tingled, he knew nothing would ever match the perfection that was her body. 

"You're my favorite place," he whispered onto her skin, as he began to thrust unwillingly in and out of her silky depths. His mind no longer in control of his movements, his hand slipped between them to roll her swollen bud between his fingers.

Their moans echoed through the otherwise empty apartment, the sound of their bodies coming together bounced off the high walls. He tried desperately to refrain from closing his eyes, as he attempted to commit every movement, every sound she made to memory. 

OoOoO

Later that night, after they had made it to the bedroom, Buffy laid awake, her head cradled against Angel’s cool chest. She still couldn't believe that any of this was real as she lightly traced imaginary designs down his abdomen. For so long they had been denied everything, in fear of risking the lives of those around them. She was having trouble grasping the concept that they were finally able to love one another without consequence. 

The reality of their situation catching up to her, she wasn’t sure how she would find the strength to leave him tomorrow. Hot tears began to run down her cheeks, as she attempted to quiet her cries, she hadn't been this emotional in a long time, though where Angel was concerned they tended to run deep. 

Angel woke to find her shaking in his arms, sobbing uncontrollably, confused he shifted them so that they were facing. Holding her close, he wrapped his arms around her, pulling her naked form against his own, he rested his chin on top of her head, trying his best to soothe her. 

“Shhh, baby. Talk to me, what’s wrong,” he asked, his voice heavy from sleep.

Gently stroking her back, he began tracing the curve of her spine. “Everything’s going to be okay, please don’t cry," he urged, forgetting how much it hurt him to see her upset. 

“What are we doing Angel?"

How are we supposed to make this work," she managed between raspy breaths. "You’re running Hell Inc., and I’m stuck on  _ another _ Hellmouth in Ohio. It’s barely been a full day and already I can’t imagine my life without you in it.” 

His dead heart squeezed inside his chest, how he wished he could just tell her everything, but he couldn’t risk her life too, not again. Scooting down he placed his nose level with hers, “ I can’t go into details yet, but I have a plan to get out of here," he whispered so low it was nearly inaudible. He never could be too careful, within these walls someone was always listening.

Buffy knew he was planning something, she had overheard Wesley talking to Fred earlier, when they thought no one was listening. Apparently, his friends were beginning to question his motives. “See, this is what I’m talking about. If we want this to work we're going to have to be honest with each other," she mumbled as tears began to overtake her once more. 

Angel rolled them so that she was underneath him, “Buffy I'm being as honest as I can, I’m not lying to you," he reassured her, softly touching his lips to hers. "There are some things going on here, but for now I have them under control. Besides if I need back-up I’ll call," he smirked, his forehead resting on hers. 

Placing gentle kisses down the side of her cheek, he felt his cock begin to stir. Dipping his head, he used his tongue to begin gently tracing his mark on her neck. 

“So what, I go back to Cleveland and we schedule a visit?” 

Angel smiled against the scar tissue, “Yes, we figure it out. One of the pluses of running  _ Hell Inc _ . is that it comes with its own personal jet. I can make it to Ohio in less than an hour.”. Turning her head to allow him better access, Buffy stretched, rubbing her body against his own. 

“Tuesday then?” 

Distracted he angled his hips so that he lay at her entrance, taunting her, taunting himself. “Tomorrow is Tuesday.”

Sticking out her lower lip she pouted, “Please." She really felt the onset of a panic attack when she thought about boarding that plane tomorrow. 

There was no way he could follow her to Ohio tomorrow, he was trying to keep her off the Senior Partners radar. Which considering, she had spent the past three nights in his bed, there was bound to already be some suspicion. Following her cross country would only validate their concerns.

She was circling her hips, the tip of him dipping in and out of her hot channel, driving him to the brink of insanity. 

“I can’t, but soon. I promise.”

He was quickly losing focus, all he could think about was burying himself deep inside her warm body. Meeting her pace, he gently began slipping further inside her with shallow thrust. 

“But you'll call me? I mean, we'll talk?” 

His chest tightened, he hated that she was so insecure in his feelings for her. Capturing her lips, he didn’t relent until she was gasping for breath as he thrust, burying himself inside her. 

“Baby.” he groaned exasperated. “I am never letting you go again, for as long as I live, I'm yours." 


	12. Chapter Twelve

Morning came far too soon, not that they had gotten much sleep, her body was delectably sore. She felt like everytime one of them dozed off, the other would start kissing or touching, awakening their desires all over again. Not that she was complaining, she hadn't thought it was possible to feel this intimately connected to someone, her entire being was a buzz, and it fucking terrified her. 

It had taken every ounce of will power she possessed to leave his arms, crawling slowly out his bed so that she could get ready. It hadn't taken him long to follow her to the shower though, apparently he wasn’t quite ready to let her go either, as he pinned her against the cool shower wall, making love to her one last time. 

After the water ran cold, and they were finally forced to towel off, she reluctantly began to get dressed as she tried desperately to steady her trembling thighs. Not being able to find one of her sandals from the night before, she thought perhaps Angel had placed them in the closet, but when she reached for the door but it wouldn’t budge. Trying again, she pulled as hard as she could but it wouldn’t open. From across the room Angel saw her struggling, walking over he grabbed the nob pulling the door open with ease. 

“Are you okay?" He'd always had issues with that door sticking, but it wasn't something that she shouldn't have been able to handle. 

Confused, she nodded her head. “Ya, it must have been jammed," she laughed trying to shake the odd feeling away. "I’m probably just tired," she assured him. Leaning up she pressed a quick kiss to his lips, watching as he buttoned the navy shirt he'd chosen for the day. 

Angel eyed her suspiciously for a moment, before nodding his head in agreement. She was right, they hadn’t exactly gotten much sleep the last couple of nights, she had to be exhausted, not that he would change a minute of it. 

“Tadaaa.” 

She reemerged from his closet holding the shoes she had been searching for, slipping them on her feet she checked the time as she fastened her watch. They were cutting it close, she needed to find Faith if they didn’t leave soon they were definitely going to miss their flight. 

“You sure you don’t want to take the jet," he questioned as he slipped on his socks. "All I have to do is make a phone call and it will be ready for you.” Buffy blushed, she wasn’t sure she would ever be accustomed to such a luxury. 

“No, not this time," she sighed, stopping to stand a few steps in front of him, she flashed him a wicked smile. "I mean what’s the good of a private jet if you don’t even get to join the mile high club?”

Angel groaned, this wasn't easy for him either. Pulling her the rest of the way to him, he circled his arms around her waist, holding her close. 

“I mean Faith may be down…”

Buffy playfully shoved him before he could finish that sentence. Chuckling, Angel pulled her back against him, pressing his lips to hers, he took his time tasting her, gently nipping at her swollen bottom lip. What he had intended to be a chaste kiss goodbye, soon had them both breathless, panting, his body pressing hers against the wall. 

“I should probably...” she began, but was cut off by Angel's mouth descending on hers once again. There was a battle raging inside of him, he knew he had to let her go, but he didn’t want to let her leave. He wasn't sure how he was supposed to go back to life as usual once she was gone, she was still in his arms and already he missed her. 

He had just begun to place hot hungry kisses down the side of her neck, his hand trailing a path beneath the shirt she'd just thrown on, when a hard knock on the front door brought them back to reality. “It’s probably Faith,” Buffy whined, arching into his touch, silently begging him for more. Smiling against her lips, he lightly circled his thumb around her lace covered nipple. "Mm, you have to answer the door," he mumbled, though he wasn't sure which of them he was trying to convince. 

Taking a step back from her, he pulled the shirt he had just tucked in, back out of his pants in an effort to conceal his raging hard on. 

Briefly wondering if that was why he never tucked his shirts in back in Sunnydale. Reaching out, she brushed her fingers against the hard length of him as she sauntered off to answer the door. 

Leaning his head on his arm, he braced himself on the wall she had just occupied in an attempt to gather some semblance of control. Fighting with the voice inside of him that was screaming not to let her walk out that door, he took a deep breath as he stepped into the living room. Just in time to catch the tail end of their conversation. 

Walking up behind Buffy, he wrapped his arms around her, pulling her back into his embrace, as he shot Faith a wink. 

“Cabs waiting down stairs," she smirked, taking in the sight of the couple before her, she couldn't help but smile. They deserved a little happiness after everything they had been through.

Spinning in his arms Buffy rested her head on his chest, and for just a moment let everything fall away. The silence, his lack of heartbeat was oddly comforting, familiar. Holding her to him, Angel nudged her forehead with his nose, causing her to look up.

“So we’ll talk soon," she asked meekly, her eyes glossy with unshed tears. 

Angel pressed his lips back to hers, it was one of those kisses that made her belly tingle with anticipation, once again the world faded, all that existed was the two of them. Faith worried that they were going to start tearing at each others clothes any second, clearing her throat, she tried to remind them that they weren’t alone. 

“Umm Angel, I’m pretty sure she still needs to breath," Faith joked awkwardly, wondering if she really was going to need to find a house. 

Angel was the first to break away, knowing that if he didn't, there wouldn't be any letting her go. “I’ll call you tonight," he smirked against her lips. 

Nodding softly, she placed one last kiss to his lips before turning to grab her bag from Faith. His hands lingered on her body until she stepped fully from his reach.

“What, no love?” Angel smiled as Faith threw her arms around his neck, he was so proud of how far she'd come. Returning her hug, he winked at Buffy as Faith whispered in his ear, “Don’t worry, you know I'll keep her warm for ya.”.

Angel walked them to the door, stealing a few more quick kisses before Faith threatened to physically tear them apart. Watching as they left, he waited until they had disappeared though the main elevator doors before stepping back inside his apartment. Leaning his head against the door, he silently asked the powers to help him find a way out of this fucking place alive. 

OoOoO

Thankfully their flight had been uneventful, well if you consider being stuck on a plane for nearly four hours playing twenty questions uneventful. Faith was relentless in her quest for details, and under any other circumstance Buffy would have happily obliged. But this wasn’t some random hook up who took her to dinner. This was Angel, and she wasn’t exactly in a sharing mood. 

Her heart ached in a way that she had long since forgotten it was able too. She missed him so much, she constantly had to fight back her emotions, as Faith continued to press on hanging onto any detail Buffy let slip. Breaking down on a crowded airplane wasn't exactly something she ever planned on experiencing. That private jet sounded better each second that passed on the overcrowded aircraft.

Popping in her earbuds, she was eventually able to drown out Faith, as she nodded in and out of consciousness for the last small duration of their flight.

OoOoO

By the time they made it back to their apartment, Buffy was exhausted, the lack of sleep over the last few days was really catching up to her. Walking up the stairs, Buffy dragged her suitcase behind her. It wasn’t until Faith caught up to her, grabbing it from her hand that she realized just how much she had been struggling with it.

“Geez B, Angel must have really taken it out of you," Faith said smirking as she passed the blonde on the stairway.

Following her into the apartment she was just about to respond when her purse began to vibrate, searching through the overstuffed bag she eventually found the device, smiling when she saw the Los Angeles area code.

"Hello?” She held her breath as she waited to hear the sound of his voice on the other end of the line. 

“How was your flight?” 

Dropping her shoulder bag on top of the suitcase Faith had carried up, Buffy kicked off her shoes as she made her way to her room. Sighing, she ignored Faith’s questioning stare as she moved past her. 

“Long," she groaned, remembering the torturous experience.

Making sure to close her door behind her, she went straight to her closet in search of something. 

“Should have taken the jet."

Opening a box in the back of the closet she finally found what she had been searching for, pulling her shirt over her head, she tossed it in the laundry basket that was placed next to her door.

“Maybe you should have given me a tour of it," she teased, kicking her pants off in the process. She couldn't help but giggle when she heard him groan on the other end of the line, gosh she missed that sound.

He sat in his office with the blinds closed, leaning back in his expensive leather chair he tried to block the image she was creating out of his mind. “Well there’s always next time," he told her, his voice husky, full of the same need she felt. "I just wanted to make sure you made it home.” He was desperately trying to change the subject, the last thing he needed was to get himself all worked up. He needed to be focused when he met with Hamilton, he needed to ensure that neither her nor Faith were a target. 

Buffy pulled the old black t-shirt over her head, stretched and faded from years of use, it was one of the few things she still had of his. She'd have to remember to snatch a few new ones next time she saw him. Climbing into her bed, she curled up under the covers as she cradled the phone to her ear. “We did, I actually just climbed into bed.” 

Clearing his throat, Angel pushed the images of her underneath him in his bed from his mind. “Little early for bed isn’t it," he asked, his voice dropping several octaves. Buffy smiled into her pillow, “Someone kept me up all weekend.”. 

“Any regrets?” Angel asked, as he shifted uncomfortably in his seat, his pants growing tighter by the second. 

“Not a single one… Angel?” He loved the way his name sounded on her lips, it was one of his most favorite sounds.

“Hmm.”. 

“I love you.” 

In that moment he would have given anything to be able to walk out of Wolfram and Hart, never looking back. “I love you too beautiful." 

A heavy silence hung between them for a bit as neither of them knew what to say. Each of them holding back their plea's for the other to return.

Hey, why don’t you get some sleep," he knew how exhausted she had been earlier, and he was sure she hadn't gotten any sleep on the plane. "Call me tonight, when you wake up?”

Pouting, Buffy whined into the phone, “Mmmm, but I like talking to you.”.

“Buffy.” She wasn’t sure if he was saying her name in warning or as a plea. 

The intercom beeped, it was Harmony alerting him that Hamilton was on his way up. Having heard the interruption on the other end of the line Buffy sighed in irritation.

“Fine, but for the record I really don’t like those people.” Angel wasn’t aware that she had met Hamilton, and made a mental note to question her about it later. 

“Me either, but I have…” 

Rolling her eyes she cut him off, finishing his sentence for him. “To go, I know… please be careful.”

"Always," he quickly promised her from the other end of the line, before telling her that he loved her one more time and disconnecting. She hated the way her chest felt, all tight and wrong, she knew this was going to be hard, but she had honestly forgotten what it felt like to truly miss him. She'd definitely forgotten the raw ache his absence left inside of her, all she could think of was him. All she wanted was him. 

Angel hung up the phone just as his guest appeared at the door. “Hamilton,” he greeted as he walked over to the small bar, picking up a bottle of aged whiskey, he poured two glasses. 

Hamilton closed the door behind him with a simple nod of acknowledgment to Harmony. Walking over to Angel's desk he wasted no time placing his briefcase in one of the empty chairs. Smiling, he took the glass Angel held out in offering. Taking a long drink of the stout liquor, he savored the oaky flavor. 

“So tell me Angel...how are the slayers?” 

OoOoO

Buffy groaned as she woke up in her own bed, memories from the previous days slowly trickled back, as she stretched her sore body. A small smile graced her face as she replayed the events within her mind. For the first time in a very long time, she felt truly happy, like the girl she used to be, like the woman she was supposed to be. 

The sun was just beginning to set when she called attempted to call Angel again, but to her dismay only reached his automated voicemail. She tried not to think too much into it, just from her brief time there she knew that nights tended to operate the same as on the Hellmouth...late. In an attempt to clear her mind, she snuck in Faith's room bouncing onto her bed in order to wake her. 

"Rise and shine, gorgeous," Buffy told her while obnoxiously trying to pry the comforter from the brunettes grip. 

"Ugh are you always this chipper when you get laid? I think I preferred you abstinent." 

Buffy playfully shoved Faith from atop the covers, "Who said anything about getting laid?".

Faith rolled her eyes beneath her blanket, pulling it down just enough to look over her shoulder, she quirked an eyebrow at Buffy, daring her to say it didn't happen. 

Try as she might, Buffy couldn't stop the smile that spread across her face, nor the blush that she was sure had turned her entire body a healthy shade of pink. 

"It totally happened," she half squealed before burying her face in the covers of the bed. 

Faith let out a hearty laugh at her sister slayers embarrassment, it wasn't often that she was able to break through the blondes facade. 

"So… Details?"

B's head instantly shot up from where it was buried in her bed, "Not even if your life depended on it," she told her laughing as she stood from the bed. There wasn't much she didn't tell Faith about at this point, but this was Angel, and she just wasn't ready to share any of him yet… even if it was only memories. 

"Now hurry up and get dressed, it's already dark out," Buffy yelled down the hall as she made her way back to her room, to find her own self some clothes.

OoOoO

Cleveland was a lot bigger than Sunnydale, which meant that there was more ground to cover. Luckily that also meant the demon population had more room to spread out, which seemed to result in less human fatalities… that's what she told herself at least. The reality of the situation was that the city was  _ so  _ large, they probably never even heard of half the attacks that occurred.

They made a quick sweep through two of the cemeteries, they were both still recovering from jetlag so they figured it best not to split up tonight. Dusting four vamps between the two of them within the first thirty minutes, they could tell their presence had been missed. 

Afterwards as they were making their way through an industrial district, Faith nudged her with her leather covered elbow, “You know B, bullshit aside I’m happy for you, believe me it makes my life easier that you and Angel are back together. I mean I no longer have to do the weird dodgy thing.”.

Cocking her head to the side, Buffy rolled her eyes, "What weird dodgy thing?".

"You know the one where, I have to pretend to be on the phone with Robin or Wes or basically anyone except Angel."

Stopping in her tracks, Buffy turned to face her head, "I knew you were lying about who was on the phone that night!" Faith just smirked, shrugging her shoulders, "Listen, neither of you were much fun when the others name was mentioned. Regardless, I'm just glad I'm not stuck in the middle anymore."

Of course Faith would use her personal life to her own gain, "Well, I'm glad we could make you feel more comfortable," she deadpanned. 

She could tell Faith still had something she wanted to say, they had become very good at reading each other over the years. 

"What," she groaned. 

"Nothing," Faith chirped, from beside her. 

"No, I can tell there's something you want to say. So say it."

Faith bit her lower lip, she really didn’t want to rain on her parade, but something was definitely off back in Los Angeles. She knew first hand, what type of people worked for that Law Firm, and she still wasn't real clear on the hows or the why Angel was suddenly head honcho in charge. None of it made much sense. “Buttt, didn’t things seem weird to you? I mean things between Angel and his team… they were obviously strained.” 

Buffy knew what she meant, it was the exact thing she had attempted bringing up to Angel. “I’ll talk to him, but I’m not sure how much good it will do. I tried back in L.A., all he would tell me was he had it under control.”

Nodding, Faith turned and began walking beside her once again. “Well whatever it is, I’m sure he would let us know if he’s in over his head. It's Angel, if there's anyone we can trust its him.” 

OoOoO 

Back in his office, Angel walked back to his desk, taking a seat he got down to business. 

“Back in Ohio, as we planned.”

Hamilton eyed him suspiciously, “And the blonde one, Buffy. I hear you two… reconciled.” Taking a seat Hamilton locked eyes with Angel, still unsure if he could be trusted. 

Angel shrugged, “I fucked her, it was a long time coming. Besides, we don’t need them in our way. It’s best if they believe I’m still playing for the good guys.”.

Hamilton didn’t make a sound, Angel was beginning to worry that his entire plan was falling apart. The tension in the air was thick as the two men stared each other down, each waiting for the other to budge. Eventually Hamilton broke the trance between them by raising his glass as though it was a cheers to Angel.

“Maybe I should have a go, I’ve always wondered about the stamina of a slayer.”

OoOoO

A few days had passed since they had returned from L.A. and Buffy was finally starting to feel like herself again, now that she had the chance to catch up on some sleep. They were at the gym they had rented out, Giles had spared no expense when it came to their training facilities. Buffy thought this large of a building was a waste, but Giles had insisted that it would be invaluable should any of the potentials be relocated to Cleveland, which was bound to happen sooner or later. 

Buffy blocked a punch to her right, unfortunately Faith had been expecting her to do just that, and used the leverage to knock her off her feet. The air rushed from her lungs, as she landed with a loud thud on the training mat. 

“Damn B, that's twice this week.” Faith reached a hand out, to help pull her up from the floor.

Dusting herself off, she ignored Faith’s remarks as she walked over to the water fountain, holding her side she tried desperately to catch her breath. 

“Something's going on," she gasped, "Here I mean, with the Hellmouth.”.

Throwing her hands up in the air, Faith couldn’t believe she was starting with this again. Things may have been quiet, but they weren’t dead. They had still bagged a few vamps this week. 

“Just because it’s been quiet doesn’t mean something is up, maybe they’re just on a break.”

Buffy stared blankly at Faith. “Right, evil is on vacation. I forgot demons do that now, where do you think they went? Bahamas, Fuji, something a little more local. Miami maybe.”

She didn’t mean to snap at Faith, but she couldn’t help it. She had been on edge ever since they got back from Los Angeles. Evil was stirring, she could feel it. And it didn’t help matters that Angel had been dodgy with her, refusing to discuss anything that was going on at Wolfram and Hart. 

Faith rolled her eyes, she would never understand her inability to relax. “Hey all I’m saying is that if things are quiet, why jinx it. Let’s enjoy it, let’s go out tonight.”

She didn’t want to go out, she wanted to go home and sulk in her bedroom while she waited for the phone ring. This was her first experience with a long distance relationship, and so far it sucked. Every time she talked to him it just reminded her of the first few months after he left. She missed him so much, her mind was completely consumed with thoughts of him. What he was doing, if he was okay, what they could be doing if he were here. She loved their late night phone calls, but they would always be a poor substitute for the real thing. 

“I don’t know Faith.” 

Knowing what she was about to say Faith cut her off. “Come on B! I promise you will have plenty of time to make it home in time for your pity party.”

Knowing it would be pointless to argue, she wondered if Faith was right, maybe blowing off some steam would help. After all she wasn’t doing herself or Angel any good by sitting around moping. 

“Fine. But NO drinking, I don't think my stomach could handle it twice in one week.”

OoOoO

Angel pretended to listen as Gunn and The Fell Brethren argued over the ethics of newborn sacrifice. “Listen, you may be used to dealing with Holland Manners, but he doesn’t live here anymore. Angel's in charge now, and there won’t be any baby snatching or sacrificing while he’s in office.” 

Gunn and the leader of the Fell Brethren both turned their attention to Angel expectantly. “Gunn, the Brethren need a baby. Find them one…” 

The demon held up his hand to interrupt, “My apologies, but it’s not a matter of finding just any child. The Brethren has certain standards, we simply would like the ability to search without hindrance.”.

Agitated Angel stood from the conference table to peer out the sunlit window. He didn’t want to see the look on Gunn’s face when he heard what he was about to say. 

“Okay, so find one. Look we're not going to stop you, one baby won’t even make a blip on our radar.”

The leader of the Brethren smiled, relaxing back into his seat. Shocked, Gunn leapt from his chair, slamming his hands down on the table in front of him. He couldn’t believe that Angel was going to sit by and do nothing, while this demon murdered an innocent. An infant. 

“Angel, man! We’re not going to sit by while they murder a child.”

Angel turned and met Gunn’s eyes from across the room, carefully masking his emotions. “Gunn, perhaps you should go. I’m sure there’s more important things you could be doing, the Brethren and I can work out the details.”

Shaking his head in disgust, Gunn turned to leave, throwing the file he'd been carrying down on Angel's desk in the process. The Angel he knew would never have allowed this, he needed to find Wesley, this was crossing a line that they couldn't come back from. 

Beating on Wesley's office door, Gunn didn’t give him time to answer before barging in. “Wes we have a problem, something’s up with…” 

Wes looked up from the conversation he had been having with Lorne and Spike, locking eyes with Gunn, he simply nodded his head. 

“Angel. Yes we are aware.”


	13. Chapter Thirteen

Days crept into weeks, and those weeks slowly turned into months, the leaves on the trees were starting to grow again, signaling Ohio's transition to Spring. She hadn't seen Angel in nearly three months, sure they spoke on the phone nearly every day, but it wasn't the same. Not to mention the fact that it seemed as though he grew more distant, more elusive every day that passed. There were whispers throughout the underground, a lot of them were saying that something big was getting ready to go down in L.A. but everytime she brought up that he might could use their, her and Faiths assistance, he was quick to shut her down. 

She couldn't really blame him for not being totally honest with her, well she could and sometimes she definitely did, but it wasn't like she hadn't been keeping something from him as well. At first she hadn't even noticed that anything was wrong she had chalked it up to just being tired. Then it started to happen more frequently, the temporary loss of her powers, she hated when it happened, the attacks reminding her so much of her eighteenth birthday and how helpless she felt. They weren't that bad at first, lasting seconds usually she would notice it when she was attempting some mundane task like opening a jar, or trying to move some piece of furniture. 

Over time though, they not only became more frequent, but they started lasting longer. When Faith nearly threw her through a wall a couple weeks ago while they were sparring, she forced her to call Giles, threatening to do it her damn self if she refused. So she had relented and called her old watcher, he was worried she could tell by the tone of his voice, but when she broke down in tears he tried his best to console her. Reminding her that of all the things she'd been through, ensuring her that she would too make it through this. 

So far the only thing either of them could think of, was that it could be tied to the activation of the entire slayer line. Though that didn't make much sense either, Faith was technically the carrier of the slayer line and she hadn't been experiencing anything of the sort. Giles had even reached out to the coven who had helped Willow, but they were unable or rather unwilling to help. Telling him only that, "All would be revealed in time." He and Willow had been heading the research department in England, while she pretty much carried on in Ohio, waiting for… well for whatever was happening to stop or to get worse, she wasn't sure.

Last night she'd had a particularly bad attack during a fight, and had Faith not been there she was fairly certain she would have been the one that was dust...again. Right now, she wasn't so sure that wasn't the better alternative. Her strength had yet to return, and judging from all of the bruises she was still sporting, neither had her healing ability. Her body ached in ways that she had forgotten it was able, and it definitely wasn't any of those good aches either. 

Once they'd gotten back to the apartment, Faith helped patch her up, knowing a hospital was the better option but absolutely out of the question, she carefully bandaged her side, making sure the bleeding had stopped. Taking a stake to the abdomen was no easy feat, slayer strength or not. Not to mention the black eye she was sporting, she couldn't remember a time when she had ever had a black eye, certainly not one like this. She was also fairly positive her arm was fractured, but luckily it was feeling a bit better than it had last night, well good enough to ditch the sling anyway.

"I can't believe you called him behind my back." 

"I can't believe he sent a private fucking jet! Remind me again why you refused this last time." Looking over at her, Faith knew she would never hear the end of this. "Have you looked in the mirror B? Something is going on, you've been ignoring this for so long it damn near got you killed." 

She'd had enough of Buffy brushing this off. Giles obviously wasn't too concerned either, he hadn't exactly jumped on a plane. Still, calling Angel was the last thing she wanted to do, not only was she going to have to listen to B bitch, she just knew Angel was going to tear into her for not telling him sooner.  _ At least they're speaking, _ she repeated to herself. 

What Buffy hadn't realized last night when they were attacked, was the one that got away. The one who witnessed the most legendary of slayers nearly taken down by a fledgling. The one who ran away chanting that she was powerless. In the moment it had been save B, or go after the vamp, of course she'd chosen the former, but something deep down inside told her they would pay for that one way or another. The last thing they needed was Buffy going powerless, and the entire demon population becoming aware. 

That was why she called Angel. 

She had to admit a part of her was glad that Faith had called Angel, she was definitely a bit shaken, but mostly she just missed him. As juvenile as it sounded she really just wanted her boyfriend to hold her and tell her that everything was going to be all right. He'd always had a way to make her feel like everything was going to be okay. Knowing Angel though, she already knew he was going to force her to get checked out in the medical facilities first, but that didn't stop her from trying to think of ways to persuade him otherwise. 

"You're right okay, look I know something is--,"pausing she tried to think of the right way to describe it without worrying her more. "Off," she finally settled on, "But I just really wish you would have let me be the one to tell him."

She couldn't believe her ears, "When? After you were dead," she asked huffing, throwing her legs up so that she could get more comfortable. "It's been nearly twenty-four hours B, and you're still powerless," she told her, her tone softening. 

"Did he freak," Buffy asked meekly, not sure if she really wanted to hear the answer or not. 

"He literally sent a private jet B, I'd say he's pretty freaked."

Knowing she was right, Buffy leaned her head back against the oversized chair in defeat, releasing the breath that she was holding, she closed her eyes in an attempt to rest.

Oh this was going to be so much fun.

OoOoO

He sat in his car on the tarmac waiting for the jet to land, when Faith called he had instantly felt a sense of dread flood his veins. Especially when she told him that Buffy's symptoms seemed to have first appeared after they left Los Angeles last time. Slamming his hands against the steering wheel, the timing of bringing them back here couldn't be any worse. 

He'd spent the last several weeks

calculating and executing all the little moves he needed to get things in play. He was pretty much an accepted member of the Black Thorne now, after signing away his last hope of redemption, his Shanshu. Not that he was even sure it belonged to him now that Spike was in the picture, regardless he did what he had too. 

His immediate team had only grown more weary of him as the weeks passed, as they should have, as he'd planned them too. Which is why it must have come as such a shock when he sent them all a message about convening. After they had first taken over Wolfram & Hart that was their code for meeting up and checking for bugs before they discussed anything in private. 

Honestly he was a bit surprised when they had actually shown up, he'd half expected and deserved to be ignored. Still he had to keep his guard up, it was imperative that they only know what he wanted them too, when he needed them too. It wasn't that he didn't trust them, it's just that what he was doing, what he had planned was bigger than all of them. Something that hopefully they would all understand… one day. 

Each of them eyed him skeptically until he relayed the information that Faith had told him, something had been done to Buffy last time that she was here. 

Wes eyed the vampire suspiciously, he and Angel had their fair share of broken trusts, but he knew the vampire's feelings for the slayer. His love for Buffy being one of the only things he didn't question about him at the moment. "Angel, I've never heard of anything like this outside the trials of a slayer's 18th birthday. As you remember, even then the effects are only temporary, nothing like you're describing."

Tensions were thick between the old members of the AI team. Spike had declined his invitation, after yelling some obscenities about him always fucking everything up. Apparently, he'd been trying to convince Faith for weeks to let Angel in on what was going on, he still wasn't sure what was going between those two. "I know, Giles is also already aware. I need you to contact him, use the books, use whatever you need to find some answers."

Directing his attention to Fred, he knew she was their best shot at figuring out what mystical elements were at play. "I need you to run all of the tests you can think of, and then the ones you can't. Blood, urine, x-ray, whatever, but do it on the down low. Faith said one vampire already got away after seeing her fall, the last thing we need is all of Wolfram & Hart knowing Buffy is powerless."

"And me? What do you need me for?"

Things hadn't been the same between him and Gunn for a while, not since Hamilton had come into the picture. "I need you to hit the streets, take Faith and Spike if you need to. Ask around, find out anything you can about some new drug or spell that could weaken a slayer. It's no coincidence this began after she left here." 

The sound of the incoming plane pulled him from his thoughts, as he saw the aircraft descending to land on the opposite end of the tarmac. Despite everything, the circle, her injuries, that low hum he always felt deep inside in response to her nearness had begun. The last three months had been long, he was exhausted, and as dangerous as it was to have both her and Faith snooping around, he was relieved to finally be able to hold her in his arms again… perhaps for the last time. 

OoOoO

She waited with bated breath as the plane came to a complete stop, landings had always freaked her out. It took a few minutes for their flight attendant and the pilot to get the doors open, grabbing the small duffel bag from the seat next to her, Buffy slipped it over her shoulder as she stood to exit the plane. He was halfway to the stairs before she'd even taken her first step, pausing for a moment, she couldn't help but smile when his eyes finally met her own. 

She continued until she was just out of his reach, only a step between them. He may be some big CEO now, but everytime she looked at him all she could see was Angel, her Angel. 

"Hey," she whispered, a small smile on her face, her voice barely audible.

For a moment he stood speechless as he watched her appear in the doorway of the plane. Even though there was no difference in her physically, he couldn't get past how tiny she seemed, how vulnerable. He had always felt some need inside of him to protect her, but right now, seeing her like this he guessed was kicking that sense into overdrive. 

The next thing she knew his arms were around her, pulling her to him. He didn't even bother with a Hello, before crushing his lips to hers. His tongue immediately slipping between her soft lips, seeking entry, as he held her closer. For just a moment he lost himself in her, pouring all of his misery, his worry, his longing into his kiss. 

For the first time in weeks she felt a sense of peace, of safety. She no longer had any doubt that this is where she was supposed to be, right here, safe in his arms. Pulling back only after the need for oxygen overtook her, she quickly wiped the moisture from her eyes with the sleeves from her shirt, wrapping her arms back around him, she leaned up quickly pressing her lips back to his one more time. 

"Hmm, we need to get going," he muttered, his grip tightening around her, contradicting his words.

"Uh, pretty sure you have to let her go for that to happen big guy." 

They both turned to face Faith, who stood at the open car door, waiting for the two of them to join her. Taking the bag from her shoulder, Angel kept one arm wrapped around her as he guided her to the passenger seat of his car. 

Throwing her bag into the trunk, he quickly hopped in the driver's seat, shifting the car into drive he reached across the console to entwine their fingers. His need to touch her nearly all consuming after so much time.

"How are you feeling?"

Using her free hand to tap along his knuckles of their conjoined palms, she looked up to him from under her lashes. "I'm okay, considering," she shrugged in an attempt to hide her exhaustion.

"You should have told me sooner," Angel told her as he pulled up to the gate to exit the airport. 

Shrugging her shoulders, she allowed her attention to drift out the window, not wanting to meet his gaze. "I was hoping it was just a fluke or something, besides you were already way over your head with stuff here. I didn't want to worry you with my stuff."

Bringing their conjoined hands to his lips, he placed a soft kiss to the top of her hand. "Your stuff is my stuff now, remember?" 

Sighing, she simply nodded her head, she didn't want to argue with him. Not yet, when they had only just been reunited. "So what's the plan? I'm assuming Wes and Giles have already been in contact?"

Squeezing her hand, he knew what she was thinking… it wasn't fair that he expected her to be honest with him, when he'd been anything but. "I'm not sure if they've spoken yet with the time difference, but for obvious reasons I want to keep this off Wolfram & Harts radar. Right now we're going to meet Wes and Fred at the lab. Hopefully she will be able to run some tests and have us some sort of answer by morning." 

OoOoO

Buffy sat surrounded by the core of the A.I. team down in the core of Fred's lab. Even though it wasn't a hospital it still gave her icky vibes, although that could also be from the barrage of tests that had been performed on her. She more than felt like everyone's new science experiment due to all of the pokinh, prodding, and imaging that had been done. Fred had examined her wounds extensively, even photographing the stab wound before disinfecting it to bandage once more. 

She had taken so many vials of blood, Buffy briefly wondered if she would have any left. She'd went through her brief medical history, and asked if she had noticed any other symptoms.

"She smells different," came Angel's deep voice from the chair beside her. 

Jerking her head in his direction, she scrunched up her face, "Eww,". 

Quickly grabbing her hand, he rushed to explain. "Not bad… her scent, it's just different. More intense." 

"More likely to attract vampires," Wes muttered more to himself than the others. 

"Exactly," Angel breathed, now more worried than ever that someone or something had done this intentionally. 

"Well, I think we've done everything we can do for tonight," Fred told the occupants of the room, trying her best to appear positive for Buffy's sake. "I'm going to run all of these tests myself, so I should have most of the results back by morning." 

Angel could see the wheels turning behind Wesley's head, he was onto something, he knew it. "Wes, what is it?"

The Englishman cleared his throat, not quite ready to share his thoughts. "I'm not sure, like Fred said after we get some of the blood tests back we should know more. In the meantime, I'm going to consult some of the old Watchers Diaries, perhaps I'll find some clue in there." Gathering a stack of folders, he quickly bid everyone in the room goodnight, before pressing a quick kiss to Fred's forehead, quietly reminding her that she too should try to keep some sleep at some point. 

Faith had ditched them as soon as they arrived back at the law firm, citing that her babysitting duties were over for the night. Promising to be back in the morning, she borrowed a car with a wink from Angel as she set off to see her own special vampire. 

Angel waited with Fred as Buffy stepped out to change from the medical gown she'd been given back to her normal clothes. "So what are you really thinking?"

Lowering her voice, she looked over her shoulder to her friend, the vampire she was no longer sure they could trust. "I'm really not sure Angel, her symptoms are alarming, which leads me to believe this has to be a spell, or possibly a poison of some sort. I'm far from the slayer expert though, I'm sure Wes may have a few more ideas as to what this could be than I do at the moment." 

Regardless of his actions the last few months, if there was anything Fred was certain of regarding Angel, it was his feelings for the blonde slayer. "I know you're worried Angel, but it's late, and as you saw Buffy looked exhausted. I think the best thing you can do for her now is take her home. I promise you will be the first to know once we get all the results back."

OoOoO

Buffy snuggled closer into Angel's side, her head pillowed on his chest, she breathed a sigh of relief when her flesh finally came into contact with his own. Both of them exhausted after the evenings events, they'd headed straight for the bedroom as soon as Fred gave them the okay to leave. She had quickly shedded her clothes in favor of the t-shirt Angel had discarded, loving the smell of him enveloping her. 

She'd missed him so damn much, "I'm sorry I didn't tell you something was wrong," she mumbled against his chest, knowing he was probably still bitter about her little omissions.

His arm was wrapped firmly around her, his fingers danced beneath the fabric of his shirt, tracing small patterns around the curve of her hip, he just took a moment to breathe her in. His stomach had been in knots ever since his phone call with Faith. His worry for her even greater now that all signs pointed to something mystical. The scent of a slayer was undeniable, delectable even to all of the undead. But right now, the scent she was giving off was absolutely irresistible. It called to him, beckoned him to have her. His worry for her, was the only thing that had kept him from pulling her into some abandoned office all night in order to have his way with her. 

Shifting he slowly rolled to his side, tugging her body up so that they were eye to eye, he reached out to tuck the few strands of hair that had fallen back behind her ear. Her body fit perfectly against his, rubbing his palm along her thigh, he gripped her leg guiding it over his side so that he could fully feel the warmth of her center. Thrusting slightly against her, he whispered his nose tracing her own, "You can tell me anything, Buffy please don't ever doubt that.".

With every word he spoke she could taste his breath on her lips, her entire body ached with a need to touch him. Suddenly her injuries didn't matter, all that she could feel was him, all she wanted to feel was him. Instead of answering, she pressed her lips to his, she took her time, nibbling, sucking, teasingly slipping her tongue out to touch his own. Her hands found their way around him, her fingers in their favorite spot, scratching the hairs of his nape. 

"Make love to me," she gasped when she had to break away, overtaken by her need for air. 

There was no hesitation as he captured her lips once more, shifting them, he easily slid her small body beneath his. Grabbing the shirt she wore, he bunched it up and over her head, paying careful attention to avoid her injury. Abandoning her lips, he began a trail of descent leaving hot open mouthed kisses down her neck to her collarbone, nibbling his way down her breast, he wasted no time riding her of the offending garment, that was keeping them fully from his view. Her nipples already stood peaked, begging for his attention, circling his tongue around one, he snaked one of his hands down to roll the other beneath his thumb. 

Almost instantly her small moans began to fill the room, her body instantly responding to his every touch. His cock pulsed inside the confines of his boxers, aching to be let free. Sliding further down her body, he kissed his way down her navel, inhaling her scent when he reached the silk of her thong, he hooked his thumbs in the tiny straps, pushing the cloth down her hips. Spreading her thighs, his tongue slipped between her wet folds, alternating between dipping into her seeping core and tracing the swollen bundle of nerves, he couldn't seem to get enough of her taste as he fought the demon for control. 

Her legs draped over his shoulder, her thighs gripped his head, her hips ground against him, rotating, lifting, silently trying to guide him to the place she needed the most. Her empty core ached with need, she craved the feeling of him inside her. filling her. She had thought of little else all the nights she spent alone, phone cradled to her ear, wishing they were together. 

His cock felt as though it was going to burst through the velvety skin, devouring her, he savored her taste, relished in the feel of her fingers gripping his hair, the sound of his name falling from her lips. How had he ever thought he could live the rest of eternity without this, without her. Slipping two fingers into her, he watched for a second as they glided in and out of her slick channel. Her body bounced and twisted as she tried to draw as much pleasure from him as she could, knowing he was teasing her, pushing her limits. 

His tongue swirled her clit, he sucked the swollen nub between his lips, until he felt her knees begin to quake around his head. Abandoning her center, he trailed back up her body, leaving a path of random kisses in his wake. Pushing his boxers down his hips, he nearly gasped as his rigid flesh sprang free, twitching in search of her warmth. 

Positioning himself at her dripping entrance, his lips once again found hers, devouring her, until she was starved of oxygen. She tried her best to circle her thighs around him, her fingers clawing down his back in her attempts to pull him closer. 

Breaking away from her mouth, his nose traced along hers, his mouth hovering just above her sensitive skin. 

"Look at me." 

Her eyes fluttered open to focus on his deep brown orbs, her breath caught in her throat at the emotions she saw staring back at her. "I love you," she moaned, nibbling on his lips, never breaking eye contact. 

Instead of answering her, he slowly began to sheathe himself inside of warm body, shifting his hips, he paused for a second once he was fully seated inside her in an effort to calm himself. In all of his years he had never felt so complete, flashes of her seventeenth birthday flashed before his eyes, had his soul not been bound he was sure it would have left his body. She really was his home, his perfect happiness. 

He made love to her with a tenderness she wasn't sure she had ever experienced. Her entire body tingled, she no longer had control of her limbs as they trembled around him, the muscles of her womb coiled as she gave into the feeling of him thrusting into her body, slowly taking her to a height she'd never before experienced. 

He didn't even wait until they were fully recovered from the heights of pleasure, before he started all over again. Gently biting his faded mark with blunt teeth, he felt himself hardening inside her once more. His hunger for insatiable, his need to claim her unmatched, he closed his eyes and pushed the thoughts of throwing her in a car and running away from his mind. Attempting to focus on the moment, he rose to his knees as he began to make love to her all over again. Knowing despite their exhaustion, neither of them would have time for sleep tonight…

OoOoO

"I've personally run the test three separate times Wesley, and everytime the answer is the same."

It was nearly dawn, as promised she had stayed in the lab all night running every possible test she could think of. There were no traces of any drugs mystical or otherwise, all of her labs had come back normal except for this. Knowing it wasn't possible, Fred had run the test again, and then a third time just to be sure. 

"Wes could this be possible?"

Wes ran a hand over his tired face, he'd taken advantage of his source books to bring forth every single watcher's diary from generations back. Unfortunately, all of the information he had found seemed to be confirmed by Fred's findings. "I would say no, but then again we've found ourselves in similar situations before. However, we can't take these results at face value, we can't rule out something demonic, not yet."

Fred hated the bubble of fear that seemed to be growing within her by the second. She hated being the bearer of bad news, and this was news that she knew neither slayer nor vampire was prepared to hear. "I'm going to go back to the lab and run a few more tests, I'm also going to check with the medical department to see if they have a piece of equipment we may be needing." 

Wesley simply nodded his head, too engrossed to look up as the brunette left his office. Glancing from the book to the telephone, the eternal debate within him raged on, as he contemplated phoning Rupert Giles for the hundredth time that night. Once again he decided against it, he would wait until tomorrow when they knew more, after all Angel had instructed them that the results of Buffy's tests weren't to leave be discussed with anyone outside of their circle. However if what the tests were saying was true, they were going to need a hell of a lot more manpower to get her out of here, especially if word got out. 


	14. Chapter Fourteen

They were just beginning to drift off, when a pounding sounded from Angel's front door. Jerking up to look at him with questioning eyes, Angel just groaned in response. Kissing her head, he rolled from the bed, telling her he'd back right back as he stepped into his slacks from last night. 

"This better be-," the words died on his lips at the sight of Fred and Wes before him. Clearly, they hadn't been to sleep and something told him it wasn't because of the same reasons he'd missed out on a night's rest. 

"What's wrong," he demanded, feeling his stomach drop out of him, knowing from the looks of them, from the fact that they were here, now, that this couldn't be good news. 

Wes eyed Angel cautiously, "I think it would be best if Buffy were here.". 

Fred sensing the tension between the two, and knowing their history, quickly chimed in, side stepping Angel as she walked passed him into the apartment. "What Wesley means, is that it would be easier to go through everything once, with both of you here." 

Stepping out of the way to allow Wesley inside, he started to mutter how they wouldn't have to look very far knowing Buffy was just a short distance away, naked and waiting for him to return back in bed. 

At least until curiosity got to her, as he'd expected it would eventually, and her head peaked out from the doorway just moments later. Their eyes met, thankfully no one else having picked up on her yet, and she quickly ducked back inside. It wasn't but a couple more minutes until she was coming out to join them, dressed again and brushing through her hair with her fingers. 

"Oh. Buffy. You're here," Wesley greeted, standing up and awkwardly trying to shake her hand. Wes had come a long way in the years they had been fighting together but some moments he sure seemed to revert right back to that bumbling idiot they had first met when Wes had entered all of their lives. 

"Hey, Wes," she greeted. "Fred." 

"H-hi Buffy. How are you?" 

Buffy shrugged her shoulders. "Good, I guess. All things considered anyway."

"Right," Fred said, looking down at the floor. "That is understandable." 

"I don't suppose anyone has figured out what in the world is going on with me, have they?"

Wes opened his mouth, then shut it again. He sighed, taking a seat again beside Fred's small frame and pressing his hands together in his lap. "Well, actually... we do believe we've found the source of the problem... well, not problem... with the issue of you losing your powers, I mean."

"Well, that's good right?" she asked, looking at the two of them then over to where Angel was still waiting for more information his own self. "Then we can fix whatever it is and everything can get back to normal. Well, you know, as normal as any of our lives tend to get anyway."

"Well... it's not... it's not quite that simple."

"Why not? Is she sick?" Angel asked, his voice showing his initial panic to that idea. 

"No, um, not exactly," Wes rushed to say. "There is a medical related issue, however. And it would be the source of you losing your slayer related abilities. For now."

Both he and Buffy looked confused, trying to process what in the world that was supposed to mean. "She's not sick... but there's something wrong?" he questioned. "And for now? She's going to get her powers back?"

Fred's nose wrinkled up a little. "I don't think we're leading into this very well," she half whispered over to Wesley. 

"Whatever it is, just tell me. I can handle it," Buffy told them. "It's okay."

"We ran a wide variety of tests to get to the bottom of this... as you know..."

"Many tests, and some multiple times over..." Fred added.

"Yes. We wanted to be absolutely sure we weren't missing anything or perhaps getting false information somehow..."

"Right."

"And, and we realized that Buffy is... um... she had a test reveal that she..." Wesley looked over at Fred, quite uncomfortable in this whole situation right about now. 

"Buffy, you're pregnant," Fred blurted. "That's what we came to realize."

Buffy's green eyes looked like they were about ready to shoot straight out of her head and were as wide as he'd ever seen them as she stared at Fred. Then, she burst out laughing. "I am not pregnant."

"The tests say otherwise."

"We ran them three times."

"That's impossible. Your tests are wrong," Buffy told them sternly.

"We, more than anyone, are aware that impossibles happen all the time, Buffy," Wes said softly.

"Yeah, well... vampires, slayers, demons, the supernatural is all actually pretty plausible compared to me being pregnant."

"I can sh-show you the tests results if-if you want," Fred offered. 

Buffy stood up and shook her head. "I don't need to see anything. Your tests are wrong."

Angel held on to the counter in front of him as his knees grew weak. He knew Fred and Wesley wouldn't have come to them with this if there was any doubt about this. They knew better than that. "Who... how..." Angel breathed out, trailing off, unable to even finish that sentence. 

"Who, how, what, Angel? Because there is no 'who.' I haven't been with anyone but you! And before that... well, let us see... it had been a while but the last person I was with before you was Spike. So... I mean..."

Angel had been terrified, felt sick to his stomach even, over the idea of Buffy being pregnant by some random fling, maybe a one night stand, who knew. Some man who he knew could give her many things he couldn't, including a baby. 

"I-it seems you are early on still. W-we will need an ultrasound probably to be more accurate."

Wesley started to explain how Slayers in the past had lost their powers upon becoming pregnant, often times even the day of, and Angel could hardly hear him, everything becoming fuzzy around him. It wasn't that outside of the box he thought for this to happen. Not at this point. Not after all he had been through in the last several years, after Connor... The idea of Buffy pregnant with some human male out there scared him. Thinking there was even a small chance that it could be his? He couldn't. Not now, not with everything that was going on. This was the absolute worst time for him to be worrying about having another child, let alone with a goddamn vampire slayer. A slayer who was now more human than she had been in years now due to this new development. 

A million visions seemed to flood through his mind, each worse than the last. His hands shook as he thought of what might happen if anyone found out, what would happen to him, to Buffy, to that baby apparently growing inside of her. 

Closing his eyes, he did his best to steel his heart against everything about to come, against his own self, as he realized exactly what he had to do right now. 

Fisting his hands at his side, he shot daggers out of his eyes at the woman he loved more than life itself. "You're lying," he accused. 

Fred gasped a little, her brown eyes wide as she turned to look at him. Wes even looked shocked at his words, the tone he'd taken. At first it seemed they thought he was saying it to them, but Buffy picked up right away who he was going after. 

Buffy did look shocked as well, but he could see that anger boiling in those darkening green eyes as she gave him a hard look. "Excuse me? I'm what?"

He crossed his arms over his chest. "You're lying. You've obviously been with someone, Buffy. So, tell me, was it before you and I got back together, after, or is something going on that I should know about when I'm not around?" 

She had a mixture of hurt and anger forming all across her face as his words hit. She swallowed hard, her bottom lip quivering just the slightest. "I haven't been with anybody," she told him. "Like I said, the damn test is wrong Angel." 

He just continued to stare speechless for a few moments, his eyes bouncing back and forth between her face and abdomen. "You said something about an ultrasound, do we have one?" he asked Fred, forcing his attention away from Buffy. 

Meeting his hard eyes, Fred gave him a small smile, they were either dealing with yet another extraordinary circumstances, or the baby wasn't his… either way, her tests weren't wrong, there was a baby. "I've already requested for one to be brought up from the medical floor to the lab." Giving a slight nod of his head, he looked between her and Wes, as he tried to ignore Buffy's eyes burning holes through him. "Could you give us just a minute?" 

With only a shared glance between the two of them, Fred and Wesley each nodded before silently stepping out into the hallway. Fred had never witnessed that level of angel coming from Angel, not towards someone that wasn't the enemy anyway. Had Buffy been anyone other than a slayer there's no way she would have felt comfortable leaving her alone with him right now, as it were though she didn't really feel like she had much of a choice. "Do you think she's going to be okay," she whispered to Wes once they were safely out in the hallway. 

His eyes glued to the door they just exited, Wes gave a slight nod, "Angel would never hurt her." Though even he wasn't sure he believed his own words at the moment. 

OoOoO 

Waiting until the door was firmly closed behind them, she finally risked a glance back in his direction. 

"I'm not pregnant," she stated yet again, as she slowly began to close the distance between them. This was the most absurd thing she had ever heard, "How could I be Angel?". 

Steeling himself against the onslaught of emotions, he forced himself to meet her stare, his eyes cold and hard. "Well gee Buff, you mean to tell me no one's explained how these things happen or have you just been screwing vampires so long you forgot?" 

Taking a step back, she couldn't believe Angel was the one behind his words, he never called her that. "That was harsh," she managed through the tears accumulating behind her eyes. "Do you feel better now? 'Cause, still not pregnant!" 

Pushing himself off the counter's ledge, he should have known something like this was going to happen, things between them had been too good, they were too happy. Which had always been a recipe for fucking disaster, wracking his brain, he needed fucking answers… now.

"Bullshit Buffy. Fred and Wesley wouldn't have come to us with this if they weren't one-hundred percent positive, you heard Wes, your strength, everything disappearing, it's not exactly unheard of."

Losing the fight against her emotions, she wiped at the tears escaping her eyes, "Then it's either your baby, or it's some mystical hell spawn… either way, I haven't been with anyone else, you should know that.". 

Not being able to stand the sight of her crying, he sighed as he wrapped his arms around her, and pulled her tightly against him. Her small hands tried to push back and fight him off, but without her strength there was no way to make him budge. "Stop," he whispered into the top of her hair. She was right, they needed to get the scan done before jumping to any conclusions. On the off chance that this was some demonic infestation like Cordelia had gone through, they needed to know now, but something in gut told him that wasn't what they were dealing with here. "You're right okay, I'm sorry. Hearing that from them, it threw me. Let's just get you downstairs before we jump to any conclusions."

Jump? She was pretty sure he had already leapt off the fucking building as far as conclusions were concerned. Giving up her fight, she buried her face against his bare chest as sobs tore from her. "I would  _ never _ do that to you," she gasped, still angry that after everything they'd been through to get here, he could think such a thing about her. 

He couldn't let her fall apart, not like this, not now, "Come on, get your shoes," he urged her, ignoring her last words. Releasing his hold on her, he used his thumb to wipe the dampness from her eyes. "It's going to be okay, no matter what, you're going to be okay," he promised. Half the damn demonic population had a price on Connor's head when he was born, he didn't even want to imagine the ruckus a child of a slayer and vampire would cause. There would be no way to keep her safe, not defenseless, especially not here, not in this fucking place, he couldn't trust anyone, not with this, not with her life. 

OoOoO 

Once again laid across the cold hard table, she waited for Fred to roll the ultrasound equipment into the room. This was ridiculous, it was crazy enough that he had one child, but the idea that he'd been able to somehow father two was preposterous. Either Wesley and his little girlfriend were wrong, or there was something else at play here, she wasn't pregnant, it wasn't fucking possible. 

"Okay Buffy, I'm just going to squirt a little of this gel on you." Turning the monitor around so that everyone could see, Fred tried to fight the nerves bubbling inside her. "It might be a little cold," she warned. 

Heart pounding in her chest, she gave the brunette a slight nod. Watching as she picked up a wand, Buffy held her breath for a moment as the device came into contact with her stomach. Every set of eyes in the room were focused on the small screen as Fred took a few seconds to probe around. Crossing her fingers that they were able to pick something up without having to use the transvaginal scanner, something told her no one in this room would be too happy to hear about that. 

"My God," came the sound of Wesley's voice as the image of what appeared to be a baby showed up on the screen. He'd known they had run those tests correctly, he'd made sure himself that there was no room for error, yet knowing it in your head and seeing it on the screen were two different things entirely. Better than anyone else here, he knew the history of Buffy and Angel, and despite what all of the evidence was suggesting he simply couldn't imagine Buffy ever being unfaithful, not to Angel… but on the other hand, the implications of this, well they just weren't possible. 

"Check the heartbeat," he quickly instructed Fred, who sat frozen, obviously stunned, herself.

Snapping out of it, Fred nodded, pressing the wand a bit deeper until she saw a flickering on the screen. Turning a few of the knobs with her free hand, she waited for a second until the unmistakable sound of a heartbeat filled the room. 

Buffy's entire body began to tremble uncontrollably as she watched what appeared to be the outline of a tiny human wiggle across the screen in front of her. "No," she harshly whispered. "I can't be. I can't." Her eyes strained on the image, her head shaking back and forth, her mind trying to silently will all of this away.

Angel's jaw clenched so hard that it started to hurt. Fred began to ramble off about some measurements of the small fetus growing inside Buffy and he wasn't surprised in the least for her to confirm that inkling inside of him that the timing measured up perfectly to his reconnecting with the slayer. 

He had no fucking idea how this could have happened but he was determined to get to the bottom if it. Sadly, he knew that wouldn't be easy... especially if he was going to have to keep attention off of the idea of it being his to absolutely anyone. Someone out there had to know though, someone had to have a fucking answer. He sure in the hell didn't. 

Connor was already enough of a mindfuck trying to put all the pieces together on how that was possible. This? This was a whole other level as far as he was concerned.

"How do I get rid of it?" Buffy asked, snapping him out of his thoughts. "How do you get this out of me?"

"Wh-what?" Wes stuttered. "Out of you? N-now?"

"Y-you want to t-terminate the pregnancy?" Fred asked, looking around the room at each of them. 

"Obviously something is very wrong here," Buffy said, her body still shaking, teeth chattering together as she spoke. "There is no possible explanation for this, okay? Something evil, something unnatural, who knows what the hell, has to be at play here.... in my damn body, in my... freaking uterus! And that is not okay! It's just not!"

Wes let out a deep breath. "Buffy, are you certain you have not been, um, romantically involved shall we say with anyone? Before Angel perhaps? Or... have you woken up anywhere strange or had a night out with-"

"No! Nothing like that has happened. I haven't been in bed with anyone but Angel as I keep repeating to all of you!" 

"Well, how about before we make any decisions..." Fred butted in, trying to calm things down a notch, "Maybe we could take some more samples from you? Draw some blood? I mean, we could attempt to do a DNA test-"

"Who are you going to test?" Buffy asked, nearly hysterical. "Angel? You want to test Angel? I don't think you can do that on a vampire, I don't know how in the hell that shit even works, and, um, hello.. he's a goddamn vampire!" she yelled. 

"She's right," Angel finally spoke. The last thing he needed was them trying to prove the baby was his, but at the same time he needed to think of something and fast. Buffy couldn't end the pregnancy, his heart could never recover from that. And sooner or later, somehow, someday the truth was bound to come out and she would never forgive him, nor would he ever forgive himself. 

His mind raced as he tried to think of how in the hell to convince everyone that the child inside of her wasn't his, how to convince her to have the baby anyway, the how tos about keeping everyone off the trail of a pregnancy, of a defenseless, otherwise all powerful slayer, how and where he could think of to send her where she could be safe until this whole fucking mess he was in could be fixed, Not to mention everything else that he was dealing with outside of these walls.

Before he could say anything else though, Fred was jumping in again. "We-we could just test to see that the baby is... human? I mean, that it's not somehow something otherworldly."

"Looks like a baby to me," Angel said. 

"Y-yes, but I think we all know how easily things can be deceiving on the surface. Or, I mean, there is Connor. We could always go to him for a blood sample..."

"Listen, I don't care. If it's not Angel's - some fucking how it even would be - then I have nothing. Absolutely nothing. Then there's something horrible happening, maybe it's some plan for who the hell knows. But I can't do this, I am a vampire slayer, that is who I am, that is my freaking calling in this life. I cannot do those duties while growing some... some thing inside of me! I lose my powers and I am as good as dead, the people I love and care about are as good as dead. You know that, I know that. It's too much of a risk."

"But that isn't the case anymore, Buffy. You aren't the only one, you're not the one girl in all the world any longer. You're not even one of the only two... you have an army of young women now," Wesley reminded her gently. "The fate of the world isn't entirely on your shoulders, I think something could be figured out for a handful of months."

"Yes, there is an untrained army of girls, all of them still very much learning about their powers, about who in the hell they are, how to do all of this. I am still responsible for them, for my friends and family, for the world. I can't just.... stop. I can't just lay around for nine months and expect everything to be okay, and after that? Being a mother and a slayer doesn't exactly mix now does it?"

"We can figure this out, I know that we can," Fred told her, taking Buffy's hands in hers. "I know that this must be terrifying but please, please just give it a little time. Let us run some tests, let you and Angel talk maybe, fill Giles in? Maybe he knows something we don't. Take some time to really think about this rather than making any rash decisions right in this moment and know that I, that we, will support you in any way we can and that you need... no matter what you land on in the end."

Buffy had tears starting to roll down her face. "I don't want to think about it," she choked out. "I don't want to second guess it. I don't want to calm down or to change my mind, I don't want some switch inside of me to happen-"

Angel closed the space between the two of them, wrapping his arms around her as she started to fall apart. She kept trying to finish her sentences but the words couldn't come, air didn't want to come, she would hiccup and gasp for air until finally giving up and just clinging to him for dear life as she sobbed. 

Fred looked like she was about to start crying as well, when he gently asked for both she and Wes to give them a moment to themselves once more. 

"I-I will look into more prophecies," Wes told him. "After Connor there wasn't much reason to keep digging into things of that nature... or so I thought. Maybe we're missing some more pieces."

He wanted to scream at him that he didn't need to because the baby clearly wasn't fucking prophesied, or else they would have stumbled across that little piece of information well before now, but he stayed silent. Nodding his head, he held Buffy to him as she absolutely came undone. He knew Wes was chasing down a dead end, but as long as his attention was focused there, and not on proving him to be the father, then he figured he had a little bit of time. 

They were right about one thing though, he needed to call Giles, if there was anyone he could trust with the truth about Buffy, he knew it was him. Though first, he needed to figure out how this was even possible in the first place. 

OoOoO

Somehow he'd managed to get Buffy calmed down enough to get her back to his apartment. The last thing he wanted to do was leave her there alone, so he'd called Spike and Faith to come keep an eye on her, he didn't tell them what was going on, but he left explicit instructions not to let her out of their sight. He had to get to the bottom of this, and fast, her life depended on it. 

He couldn't believe the turn things had taken, and just when he thought things couldn't get any worse. He'd sent Lorne a message through the burner phones that they all kept hidden in case of emergencies, for when they needed to meet away from the eyes of Wolfram & Hart. He'd spun dozens, if not more possibilities through his mind as to how this might be possible, and he just couldn't seem to figure it out. 

Connor was destined, a fluke, and there was just know way that was possible a second time around. Not to mention the fact that Wes had gone over every single prophecy referencing his child with a fine tooth comb, probably dozens of times, and not one had he ever stumbled across something mentioning a sibling.

As hard as he tried to keep his mind focused on the problem, he couldn't seem to quell the tsunami of emotions threatening to overtake him everytime he let his thoughts drift to the child growing inside of her. Connor was most definitely Darla's son, but he would be liein if he didn't admit that on occasion his mind would drift and he would let himself wonder what might have been had it been Buffy he turned too that night.

Seeing headlights in the distance, he waited as he watched Lorne approach. Taking out the scanner Fred had designed, he checked him for bugs before even opening his mouth to speak. 

Satisfied that they were in the clear, he crossed his arms, "What do you know," he demanded, not having time for any of his games. 

Lorne sighed, as he took a moment to look him over. Angel had been giving off some serious vibes the last few weeks, and as much as it pained him to admit, he wasn't one-hundred percent certain which side the vampire fell on anymore. Money, power, necro-tempered glass, it all appeared to be going to his head. 

"Enough," he shrugged. 

Angel scowled, "Look Lorne, in case you haven't noticed, I don't really have time for this." 

Taking a seat at one of the picnic tables, Lorne crossed his legs as his eyes met Angel's once again. "Well now you are right about that sugarplum, you're running out of time all around." 

Closing his eyes, he fought the urge to collide his fist with his face. "So are you going to enlighten me, or continue to waste more of this time I don't have." 

"You know Connor was a miracle by all accounts, two vampires coming together to bring new life into this world, it was unheard of before you." 

Angel groaned,"Ya, I'm aware. But in case you've forgotten we're not exactly here to talk about Connor."

"Do you miss fatherhood? And I do mean really miss it, because what's cooking in there isn't like Connor, Angel. It doesn't have some unseen force protecting it, it's not going to come into this world with super powers - well that's assuming it makes it into the world - but say it does, you need to ask yourself if you're ready for this… again. 'Cause the child of a vampire and a slayer,  _ that _ slayer, is always going to have a price on its head. It's going to take an awful lot of people to keep it safe, and her too." 

It was a funny feeling, to think you were suffocating when you didn't even need to breathe. Angel swallowed, "So the baby," he swallowed again. "It's mine?" 

Getting back to his feet, he rested his hand on Angel's shoulder, "Now, was that really even part of the question?" 

His jaw clenched as he let his eyes fall back to Lorne's. "How," he gritted out, the panic that he'd been pushing down all day sinking its claws into him. 

Lorne sighe again, he knew Angel's feelings for the little blonde, but that was pretty much the only thing he didn't doubt about him at the moment. He'd picked up on hints of this, but even he hadn't fully sorted everything out until Angel received the call from Faith, it was then that all the pieces he had floating around his mind seemed to click. Though even he wasn't sure what the outcome of all this would be, and after this conversation he wouldn't remember anyway. "It's a gift Angel." 

"A gift," he huffed. 

"Yes a gift," he nodded. "From the powers that be. You remember that little day that you were human all those years ago?"

He gasped,"I never told you about that."

Lorne just shook his head, as if he could keep something like that hidden from his subconscious. "You didn't have too." 

"Even still, that day was years ago, how is she pregnant now?"

Lorne shrugged, "I don't know all the details Angel, but from what I'm getting the two of you made this little one that day, now why they thought this was a good time to return it, I'm not sure." 

"Buffy doesn't even remember that day, no one does, they fucking erased it," he all but growled, his emotions getting the best of him.

"Then tell her. Look Angel, you got one shot at this, go back to Wolfram and Hart, get your girl and the hell away from here. I wasn't lying when I told you that there will always be a bounty on that baby's head. That's including now," he stressed, pulling a small vial from the pocket of his purple slacks. 

Angel's eyes went wide, "Are you saying someone's after her now?" 

Popping the cork of the vial, he grimaced after sniffing the smokey looking liquid inside. "From what I'm hearing, the Fell Brethren have zeroed in on the child they would like to sacrifice. I'm not sure that it's your child exactly, but the coincidence in timing isn't something I'd be willing to look past right now."

He felt like he was going to fall over, bracing his arms on the picnic table he silently cursed the powers that be, Wolfram & Hart, the Black Thorne, and every single road he'd taken to lead him here. He'd given the go ahead on this, hell he'd been the one to tell Gunn it wasn't a big deal, he might as well have fucking signed his own child's death certificate. 

Lorne watched as the full gravity of the situation overtook him. "What am I supposed to do," he eventually asked, his eyes full of unshed tears. 

"Protect them."

He nodded, that was probably the only thing he didn't need to be told right now, he would always protect her. No matter what. Noticing the vile in his hand, he looked at it warily, "What's that?" 

Holding it, it swirled it between them. "This is my insurance, you see last time I knew something that Wolfram & Hart wanted to know, they literally sucked my brain out. I called in a favor to an old friend, had her whip this up for me, I drink this and all the memories about your little offspring go poof." 

Angel sighed, "Are you sure that's what you want?" 

"Absolutely," he breathed, tossing the viles contents into his mouth. 


	15. Chapter Fifteen

Angel wasn't sure how much time had passed, hell he wasn't even sure what time he'd even gotten here really, or when Lorne had come and dropped those bombs on him about the baby growing inside Buffy. After getting Lorne back off on his way he just felt like the world was spinning around him and he couldn't think a clear thought for the longest time, his stomach hurt, his head fucking hurt.

Angel had climbed up to sit atop the picnic table in an attempt to gather himself up but over and over it seemed he'd almost get there only to start spiraling out of control again. All images that would pop into his mind would send him into a panic, every half thought he'd start a path down would just spin him around in endless circles.

More than anything in this world he wanted to take the advice of his friend, he wanted to jump back in his car as fast as he could, to go to Buffy and get her and that baby growing inside of her - their baby - as far from all of this as he could, to run off as one hell of a dysfunctional family and start new somewhere, to run off and finally tell her the truth, tell her how that child had come to be, about what he'd done all those years ago... he wanted to get his girl and figure out some fucking way to keep them safe.

But it wasn't that damn simple. He knew it wasn't.

There was too much that could go wrong, too many things that he knew would go wrong. They weren't just two nobodies in the world trying to disappear, they couldn't just vanish and everyone just accept that, they had too many friends and even more enemies on this planet for that. They could run, but it only took one slip up, one mistake, and it would cost them dearly. And right now, with no fucking plan even put together, he just knew it would blow up in his face and everyone would wind up hurt, probably even dead.

Buffy was a Slayer for crying out loud. Powers or not, pregnant or not... he knew it wasn't some switch you could just turn off and on. This was a vital part of everything she was and she wasn't going to just run off into hiding and pretend as though she didn't know all about the things that go bump in the night.

She was also a friend, a family member, a teacher, a mentor, and that list just went on and on. She wouldn't just abandon everyone she knew, everyone she needed in her life, who needed her. That's just not who she was, no matter what the stakes were he knew that she could never just leave these people behind. And they wouldn't let her, either.

He himself wasn't entirely sure he could do any of it either. There were too many people he cared about as well, too many people he would have one hell of a hard time trying to say goodbye to like this. Right now everyone might be questioning everything about him but that didn't matter, it didn't change how he seen the people in his life, the members of his team. He also didn't want to leave them high and dry without their leader, without him to help protect them.

_Especially right now._

What he was dealing with in this position at Wolfram And Hart was beyond what any of them even knew. This was the worst possible time for any of this to be happening - for a multitude of reasons. He couldn't leave everyone he held close to the vest with everything going on to handle themselves and he sure couldn't just turn his head at the fact the whole world was in danger either.

And, of course, there was Connor. Connor who had more than enough bad hands dealt his way, who was still his son, who he still loved and cared about and needed to know was going to alright. He'd been let down by this place so many times, he really didn't see how this would help matters any if he just took off.

It all felt like one hell of a no win situation.

Laying down and staring up at the dark sky, Angel tried some more to come up with some solution to even one tiny slice of what was going on here.

He knew he had to get Buffy as far from here as he could, he just didn't know how he was going to convince her of such. He wasn't even sure where to send her, where he thought she might be safe. His mind kept coming around to reaching out to Giles and right now that did seem like his best bet, Giles would know better than anyone probably what to do, how to help her, how to keep her safe and active enough not to lose her damn mind without her powers. He would probably do a better job of making sure she came to terms with even the pregnancy itself than he had been doing.

He still had no idea how to convince her to grow a whole human child inside of her for the next several months, to love it and take care of it, while she didn't know the truth and thought it was some demon spawn. If he told her the truth right now it would solve that, sure, but it would be a death sentence. She would be stubborn and stay, word would get out, she would be unprotected at some point. There would be too many... it would be too much for them to control right now.

Hell, he still had to even figure out what he was doing back at the law firm, with The Circle, with every damn corner of his life.

OoOoO

"We kind of have a problem," were the first words out of her mouth when he put the phone up to his ear.

"What?" Angel all but growled.

"Well, see, Buffy might have escaped."

"What?" he screamed. "What do you mean she _might have_ escaped? You're supposed to be watching her!"

"I know but she was all-"

"You're a vampire slayer, Faith! Spike's a damn vampire! Buffy is out there without any powers, isn't exactly in the best mindset here, and somehow managed to get past the two of you? How in the fuck does that happen exactly?"

"Do you really want a play by play of events that went down over here or do you just want to come help us figure out where she went, huh? I'm going to advise option number two there, alright?"

"Fuck!" he yelled again, his mind reeling all over again, trying to think of where she might have gone. "How long ago did you two decide to fall slack on the damn job and let her take off?"

"I'm just going to ignore your snarky ass attitude there, and going to guess about fifteen minutes. We were trying to track her first before bothering you but I don't know, Spike lost her scent a few blocks away, he's still out looking, but I didn't feel comfortable leaving you in the dark any longer than we had."

He couldn't believe they hadn't called him the second she took off, he was fairly certain what they'd been up too, and Spike would pay fucking dearly if anything happened to Buffy or his child because of it. "You go back to the house in case she shows back up, and tell your fucking boyfriend to keep patrolling the perimeter."

"What about you, where are you going," she asked, ignoring his comment for now. It definitely wasn't the time to bring that up.

"To the only place I can think of that she might be," he all but growled before disconnecting the call.

OoOoO

Flying through the streets of Los Angeles he'd never been more grateful for the luxury vehicles Wolfram & Hart provided. Slamming his fist into the steering wheel, he didn't relent until his knuckles were bloody and he nearly swerved, narrowly missing the semi beside him. Any idea or hope he had to get her out of her unscathed was quickly vanishing.

He was going to have to tell her the truth, there just wasn't any way around not now, not if she was headed where he expected. He should have known better than to leave her, but he hadn't had a fucking choice in the matter, and he thought he could trust those two to keep it in their damn pants long enough to keep her safe.

Part of him wished that he'd been able to hold it together earlier, to pull forth his second face and channel Angelus so clearly she would have willingly got back on that plane and flown away. But he couldn't do it, he couldn't watch her at her most vulnerable falling apart like that and just do nothing. Even before Lorne confirmed it, he felt it, somewhere inside that baby was his. That somehow against all of the odds in the universe he'd been giving this miraculous gift for a second time, this time with the woman he loved more than life itself.

Any thoughts of convincing her to carry this baby without coming clean were futile at this point. She was a warrior and he should have known there was no way she would just sit back and play human incubator to a child who's conception she didn't even remember. No, he was going to have to tell her, and then he was going to have to convince her that she had to go, _and_ leave him behind. It was going to be a battle, he knew that, but right now it was the only way to keep her and their child safe, even if she wound up hating him for it.

He was going to have to call Giles, and as much as he wanted to pummel the two of them, he could send Faith and Spike with her, they may have dropped the ball tonight but next to him there was no one else he trusted to keep her safe. He'd give the option to his team too, one thing was for sure they would be a lot safer with her, than staying back here with him.

There was no telling if anyone at the firm had caught wind of any of it yet, even though Fred performed all the test in her private lab, they whole fucking place could be bugged somehow for all they knew.

Pulling into Cedars, he said a silent prayer to the powers that be as he all but jumped from his car, tossing the keys to the valet and running inside before he even had a chance to respond. Explaining everything to her in a hospital wasn't exactly the perfect setting, but she had to know, she couldn't do anything to harm that baby, and this wasn't something they could speak about back at his penthouse, or even in the damn car. Of course they had the place swept for bugs, but that didn't mean that someone wasn't listening or watching somehow, if he'd learned anything over the last five years it was to never underestimate the lengths that place would go to destroy him and everything he cared about.

Charging the information desk, the poor old lady stood and came around to try and get him to sit as he began spouting off Buffy's name, her birthdate, height, hair color, hell everything he could think of came spewing out his mouth. Eventually the little lady got him to calm down enough to find Buffy in the system, and before she had even finished saying her room number he was gone, his vampiric hearing allowing him to hear her words long after he was out of sight.

He slowed a bit as he approached her room, if you could even call it that, she was in the emergency room, and the walls were hardly more than curtains. He listened just outside, as who he presumed was the doctor went over her list of options. She was crying, he knew that the moment he heard her trembling voice start to ask questions about the abortion process.

Angel's stomach dropped, he knew that was why she'd come here, to a place that she hated more than anything. She didn't know Fred well enough to trust her solely on this, and her faith in Wes had always been questionable. He swallowed hard, he hated how scared she was, but most of all he hated the fact that he was about to have to break her heart all over again, hell probably more than once.

She was going to be devastated about that long lost day, but he knew she would eventually forgive him for that, especially with that little life growing inside her that wouldn't have been possible otherwise. What he wasn't so sure about was what happened tomorrow, somehow he had to get her on that damn plane and get himself back off, and sadly he knew there was absolutely zero chance of her willingly letting that happen. Which meant he was going to have to somehow sneak off without her noticing, or someone was going to have to hold her back, and no matter which scenario he came up with he just couldn't imagine her forgiving him for it, but it was the only way to keep them safe, and that wasn't something he was willing to take any chances with.

Making sure to clear his throat, he didn't want to startle either of them too much as he slipped inside the room. Ignoring the doctor, he took one look at her before he was crossing the small room, sitting on the edge of her bed he fought at his own rush of emotions. Even sitting there exhausted, in a hospital gown, eyes swollen from crying, she was still the most beautiful woman he'd ever seen, and in those few moment when he pulled her into his arms she wasn't the slayer, he wasn't a vampire, they were battling forces of darkness or evil law firms, she was just the fucking love of his life and they had nothing else in this world to worry over.

Time seemed to slow down for those few moments, he just held her while she fell apart completely against him, his eyes closing as he pulled her even closer, wishing they could just freeze like this until they had all the answers figured out. Buffy's sobs grew harder with each minute and suddenly she tried speaking, trying to explain the how's and why's as to her presence here, nothing he needed a picture drawn out about. She tried choking out the words of how she couldn't do this and started gasping desperately for air as panic grew to new heights.

Angel kissed her forehead, barely hearing the other occupant of the room slowly get up, telling them he'd give them a few minutes of privacy before checking back in to discuss things further.

"I hav-haven't been with anyone, Angel. I haven't."

"I know," he whispered, his long fingers gliding over the top of her blonde hair, trying to provide comfort to the distraught Slayer.

"I d-don't un-understand how any of this i-is happening," she stammered out, large tears still flowing easily from those scared green eyes he forever felt he could drown himself in. "I c-can't have some... I don't even know... demonic being or who the hell knows what this is growing inside of me! I can't! I don't want to wait and figure it all out, I don't want to deal with any of it. I just want it out of me! It can't be anything good, Angel."

Angel swallowed hard, his hand sliding from her hair, down to her shoulder and the length of her arm until their fingers entwined together.

"I just don't understand how this is happening, Angel," she repeated, her head shaking along with the words.

"The baby is mine, Buffy," he quietly breathed out.

Buffy seemed to still some, her face slowly tilting up so her eyes could meet his again. "What? H-how?"

"It's - they're - not something bad growing inside of you. I mean, not in the traditional sense I suppose with all of the circumstances surrounding it all. I got conformation earlier that it's my - our - baby. That's where I was, that's why I left you with Faith and Spike..."

Her eyes seemed to dance back and forth, a creased line of confusion forming between them, her mind reeling trying to put those pieces together. "H-how, Angel? Y-you're a card carrying member of the undead. In case you have forgotten. A-and I mean Connor is one thing that is hard enough to come to terms with but... and how am I supposed to carrying and have a half vampire child, Angel? How in the hell does that work? We can't have a vampire baby. How is that even a thing?" Buffy's voice grew more panicked all over again as one question after another started shooting from her lips.

Angel quickly tried gathering his thoughts, and just a little extra courage to get through this conversation he truly never expected to have to have with her.

OoOoO

Angel's voice was closer to a whisper when he asked if she remembered when she came out to LA after Thanksgiving back during her Freshman year at UC Sunnydale, when she stopped by his old office for the first time.

Buffy looked utterly confused by where he was going with this but let her mind drift back and she nodded. "Yeah. I mean, it was the first time we had seen each other since you left. I was hurt that you had come to Sunnydale and avoided me, I was pissed off at how that whole situation had gone and came to confront you about it. I was there for, like, five minutes... There was that monster thing who came in through the window... You killed it and that was that. I quickly left and came home and we just went about our own lives pretty much. What's that have to do with anything?"

"Except... it wasn't just a few minutes, Buffy. That's just what you remember of it."

"Wh-what I remember of it?" she questioned.

"Th-the first time the Mohra demon attacked-"

"First time? Angel, it came through the window and you, like, hit in the head..."

"The first time it attacked," he cut her off, "You don't have memories of, Buffy. The demon came crashing in through the window and wound up getting away and the two of us decided to go after it," he told her, memories flooding him. He had replayed every bit of the memories that were his alone so many times since... he could remember every feeling, every look, word spoken between them, every touch.

Even if she couldn't remember a lick of it, he had wished every time he replayed it in his mind, he would handled so many things differently. Even if it were erased, he wished he'd handled their initial re-meeting differently, their time in the sewer while they hunted the damn creature. The emotions from seeing her, the blood from the Mohra demon having messed him up... it all just made their time together kind of a disaster at first.

"No-"

"We wound up splitting up on the search and I found it back hiding in the sewers, its blood wound up mixing with mine and, well, the unthinkable happened," he hurried out, pausing as he remembered exactly how that moment felt, too. "Within moments of that happening... something changed, I changed. I wasn't a vampire anymore, I was alive, I was human."

Buffy pushed away from him, her head shaking as she stood up and paced a little around the room. "I have no idea what you're going on about. A 'first time' that I apparently don't remember fighting a demon that you killed within minutes of me being there. Becoming human? Are you sure you didn't have some dream, or hit your head recently, or something? You're making less sense than me apparently being pregnant right now."

"It wasn't a dream, Buffy. I was alive for a day, and it was without question one of the best days of my very long life. I had a heartbeat, I walked in the sun, I saw my reflection. And... and I went to you. I went to you after speaking with two beings called The Oracles. They told me I was to live and die as a human, that what had happened to be was permanent. Doyle and I spoke and he commented how I could do whatever I wanted now and asked me what it was that I wanted... and all I could picture was you. I smiled to him and I just knew that I had to go find you. So that's what I did," he told her, his body tingling even now as he replayed in his mind how it felt to see her in that moment, to see her looking back at him... how surprised she'd been to turn around and see him...

He was almost entirely sure that moment right there was his favorite lost memory of the whole ordeal if he'd had to really choose.

And that was saying a lot.

A fresh wave of tears of tears rolled down her cheeks as she attempted to process everything he was saying. Her lip trembled, none of this was making a damn bit of sense. Closing her eyes she swallowed hard in an attempt to steady her voice, "Wh-what happened to my memories," she finally managed with only the slightest tremble.

God he hated to see her cry, but mostly he hated the fucking powers and their damn superiority complex. They had no right, surely some all knowing entity like themselves were capable of glimpsing into the future and seeing the domino effect that their choices would have. He traded his humanity for her life and she fucking died less than two years later anyways, had he known about their baby who was to say he wouldn't have chose differently that morning all those years ago consequences be damned.

Reaching out, he waited for her to return to his arms. Lying back against the small bed his arms wrapped snugly around her holding her as close to him as he could manage before he continued the tale of that long forgotten day.

OoOoO

She wanted to be angry, she wanted to lash out and scream her rage at him for putting them in this position. She wanted to throw a fit and demand that he take it back, that he find some new set of oracles to take her too so she could demand they change this, they make it right. It wasn't fair, none of it was.

"It's not fair," she sobbed.

"I know," Angel whispered softly, ignoring his own tears to brush the moisture from her face.

He told her everything, every single detail that he'd kept locked away in that safe inside his mind spilled from his lips. He told her about how they broke the table making love, how they spent hours exploring one another, he told her about his introduction to chocolate and peanut butter and what that had led into. Then he begrudgingly explained how he took off while she was still asleep to fight the Mohra ddemon again, and how he'd nearly died trying only to have her show up and save him just in the nick of time.

She felt like she was going to be sick, her eyes squeezed tightly shut against him while she listened to him recant how he'd gone back to the Oracles and asked to have the day swallowed, how no one but him was supposed to carry the burden of the day.

"But this still doesn't explain ho-how I'm p-pregnant now," she stammered confused. Even if all of this was true, which she assumed it was, there was no way Angel would lie to her or come up with some story like this all on his own, it still didn't make sense that somehow years later she was miraculously carrying their child.

Angel nodded, "The Oracles, they are-they were," he corrected, "Confusing at best. I've done nothing but replay that conversation in my head all day, they mentioned something about not being able to undo what was done, that it could only be avoided. At the time I just assumed they were referring to the day, but now…" he voice trailed off, sliding his hand between them he gently covered the tiny curve with his palm. Despite the circumstances an intense feeling of pride swelled through him at the contact, in some ways this was all he ever wanted but didn't dare dream.

"But how can we be sure," she tried to argue. What if he was wrong, what if he hadn't misunderstood them, what if there had never been a baby and she really was carrying some demon spawn around inside of her.

Angel shook his head, "I am sure, I spoke with a friend tonight, someone I trust, he has connections to the powers… he didn't have all the answers, but he knew that baby growing inside of you is mine."

Buffy swallowed, not only did they take away her memories of a day that she would willingly trade the rest of her life to relive, they somehow plucked her baby-their baby straight from her womb and decided to re-implant it inside of her when they saw fit. That was not how these things were supposed to work, they were supposed to be champions, they fought on their damn side, and as far as she was concerned the powers that be, the oracles, and who the hell ever else could all kiss her ass. Her entire life had been dictated by them and their damn decisions and now they were meddling in the life of her child, it was too much.

"So what happens now?"

Ignoring the sense of deja vu her words invoked, Angel let out a long unneeded breath. Wasn't that exactly what he'd been trying to figure out, with her safely in his arms now more than ever he wanted to take Lorne's advice, he wanted to throw her in the car, call his team and tell them all to abandon post. He wanted to call Giles and not stop driving until they made it safely away from L.A., away from this state, and the whole damn country if that's what it took, but he knew he couldn't. If he left now, if he somehow found a way to just up and disappear, half the damn underworld would come looking for him and that would just let every bad thing out there straight to her.

Instead of answering her, he leaned down to brush his lips against her soft pink pout, letting himself get lost he didn't relent until she was gasping. Resting his forehead next to hers he shook his head again, "You're not going to like it."


End file.
